User Innovation
Overview
Wednesday, 2:30-3:30pm
Format: Introductory Remarks followed by Lecture and Discussion
Leads: Eric von Hippel, with William Fisher
Potential Commentators: Charlie Nesson, Yochai Benkler, Chris Bavitz, and others
This case study build upon the IP session and will explore the creation of unique works, free and fair use, and other related issues through the prism of user innovation. Eric von Hippel will begin the discussion with an overview of new forms of user creativity and production in the online space, facilitated by the proliferation of freely available information online, the ease with which people can communicate digitally, and advances in innovating technology. This overview will segue into a discussion moderated by William Fisher, which will engage von Hippel and others in exploring models that exemplify the benefits of cheap and easy production while also examining the challenges such as copyright issues surrounding the reappropriation and alteration of original sources that may inhibit users’ capacity to innovate.
Required Readings
- Eric Von Hippel, Democratizing Innovation, (Cambridge:MIT Press) 2005. Please read Chapter 1 for an overview.
Recommended Readings
- William W. Fisher, The Implications for Law of User Innovation Minnesota Law Review, Vol. 94, No. 5, (May 6, 2010).
- Karim R. Lakhani and Jill A. Panetta, "The Principles of Distributed Innovation", Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization Summer, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2007; The Berkman Center for Internet and Society Research Paper No. 2007-7.
- Eric von Hippel, The Sources of Innovation, (Oxford: Oxford University Press) 1988.