In the wake of a series of court cases extending patents to software, open-source software proponents have proposed a number of arguments for limiting or even eliminating software patents. In particular, they claim that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has done a poor job of reviewing...

The access to drugs and development of new drugs to what are called as neglected diseases in developing nations is a major issue. To what extent intellectual property rights (IPRS) facilitate or hinder this is a controversial issue. The harmonization of global IP regime under TRIPS norms has...

This paper analyzes the structural dimension of social capital, and its impact on the success of open source software projects. By examining ties existing between open source projects through their core members altogether with other contributors, we identify the communication paths and flows of...

We argue that the intrinsic inefficiency of proprietary software has historically created a space for alternative institutions that provide software as a public good. We discuss several sources of such inefficiency, focusing on one that has not been described in the literature: the...