All Posts Tagged With: "open-source software"

Do Patents Encourage or Hinder Innovation? The Case of the Steam Engine

Today one of the most controversial issues in economic policy is that of patent law. Is a patent just an extension of property rights to the realm of ideas? Or is it an unwarranted interference by the government into the rights of individuals?

1Dec2008 | Michele Boldrin, David K. Levine, and Alessandro Nuvolari | 5 comments | Continued

Open-Source Software: Who Needs Intellectual Property?

The market for open-source software—uncopyrighted, freely reproducible computer programs—is not well understood by economists. A central source of surprise is that innovation can thrive in a market without traditional intellectual property (IP). But as we argued in a 2005 unpublished paper, “Perfectly Competitive Innovation,” as a matter of theory there is no reason to believe [...]

1Jan2007 | Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine | 0 comments | Continued

Rebel Code: Inside Linux and the Open Source Revolution

Perseus Publishing • 2001 • 334 pages • $27.50
Reviewed by Andrew Morriss
During the Microsoft antitrust trial a great deal of ink was spilled in the press over Microsoft’s alleged monopolization of various markets and its practices in marketing both its browser (Internet Explorer) and its operating systems (such as Windows 2000). Although Judge Thomas Penfield [...]

1May2002 | Glyn Moody | 0 comments | Continued