Did Germany experience rapid industrial expansion in the 19th century due to an absence of copyright law? A German historian argues that the massive proliferation of books, and thus knowledge, laid the foundation for the country’s industrial might.
Read more in Spiegel Online.
This continues the theme started in Sage: potential role of free open source software and textbooks in education.
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A NYTimes review: “Intellectual property has become such a hot topic that it needs to be doused with some history. Strange as it may sound, this is an argument developed convincingly in Lewis Hyde’s “Common as Air,” an eloquent and erudite plea for protecting our cultural patrimony from appropriation by commercial interests.” (review, essay)
By: Thomas on August 24, 2010
at 1:12 pm