Open Source Development

How can open source product development and licensing address technology transfer conflict within the post-Kyoto climate change negotiations?

a research paper considering how Open Source Ecology can diffuse through an open source development regime for climate change adaptation and mitigation

Section I: post-Kyoto Technology-Oriented Agreements (TOA)

History of international licensing for development

WTO TRIPS

TRIPS makes room for compulsory licensing with regard to patented technologies in cases of “national emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency or in cases of public non-commercial use”

UN WIPO

WIPO conflict Compulsory licensing and the pharmaceutical industry

Intellectual Property, Innovation and Commercialization

Drivers

IP as sole driver? Professor Barton of Stanford Law School

Knowledge economy and Human Capacity Development

Where does the knowledge and skill lie? Does this transfer?

Section II: Open Source Development (OSD)

Business Models for OSD

Small Scale Social Enterprises

Grameen Bank, What would make Open Source development viral?

Bibliography

Online Resources

• Appropedia: Open Development Wiki
• Global Swadeshi: Open Source Development Network Forum
• Open Knowledge Working Group in Development Wiki Open information and communication technologies for development
• Open Knowledge Working Group in Development Forum
• Open Innovation and Tech-Transfer @ USAID US Federal Open Development program

References

• Söderberg, Johan. (2007) Hacking capitalism: the free and open source software movement Volume 9 of Routledge research in information technology and society.
  • "The Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) movement demonstrates how labour can self-organise production, and, as is shown by the free operating system GNU/Linux, even compete with some of the worlds largest firms. The book examines the hopes of such thinkers as Friedrich Schiller, Karl Marx, Herbert Marcuse and Antonio Negri, in the light of the recent achievements of the hacker movement. This book is the first to examine a different kind of political activism that consists in the development of technology from below."
• International technology-oriented agreements to address climate change
  • Much discussion has surrounded possible alternatives for international agreements on climate change, particularly post-2012. Among these alternatives, technology-oriented agreements (TOAs) are perhaps the least well defined. We explore what TOAs may consist of, why they might be sensible, which TOAs already exist in international energy and environmental governance, and whether they could make a valuable contribution to addressing climate change. We find that TOAs aimed at knowledge sharing and coordination, research, development, or demonstration could increase the overall efficiency and effectiveness of international climate cooperation, but are likely to have limited environmental effectiveness on their own. Technology-transfer agreements are likely to have similar properties unless the level of resources expended is large, in which case they could be environmentally significant. Technology-specific mandates or incentives could be environmentally effective within the applicable sector, but are more likely to make a cost-effective contribution when viewed as a complement to rather than a substitute for flexible emissions-based policies. These results indicate that TOAs could potentially provide a valuable contribution to the global response to climate change. The success of specific TOAs will depend on their design, implementation, and the role they are expected to play relative to other components of the policy portfolio.
  • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V2W-4R05JDP-8&_user=655052&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1074723728&_rerunOrigin=scholar.google&_acct=C000034078&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=655052&md5=0a3c96bd0dec1afa9af20bc2bc725014
• Patenting and Access to Clean Energy Technologies in Developing Countries
  • For the world to make the transition to a low carbon economy, renewable energy technologies must be made available globally. One concern often flagged is that the intellectual property (IP) system may hinder access by developing countries. In a detailed research paper for the International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), John Barton, Professor of Law at Stanford University, explores whether IP is a bottleneck in the solar, biofuels and wind energy sectors. He briefly summarizes his conclusions in this article, focusing on Brazil, China and India.
  • http://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2009/02/article_0005.html