[d@DCC] Feedback to StraightGoods: Re: Building a medical Wikipedia

[Russell McOrmond]

Building a medical Wikipedia
But Canada withdraws funding from worldwide "Cochrane Collaboration" 
designed to determine best treatments.

Dateline: Monday, November 29, 2004
by Gordon Guyatt, MD 

http://www.straightgoods.ca/ViewFeature3.cfm?REF=873



My reply  http://www.straightgoods.ca/Thread.cfm?ThreadID=139#2679
--------

  It is not just the "Cochrane Collaboration" which is a harder sell to
governments, but any collaborative development of public knowledge.  As a
Free/Libre and Open Source Software supporter I have been trying to push
for publicly funded and publicly licensed software.  Software forms a key
part of the information economy infrastructure, the engine of our
post-industrial economy in the same way that roads where the engine of the
old economy.  Unfortunately governments are still stuck on industrial-era
business models for the development of knowledge: you "manufacture" the
knowledge and then the so-called "content industries" use government
protected monopolies to charge per-unit fees (monopoly rents, also known
as royalties).

  We must get past this outdated way of looking at the development of
knowledge, and move into a modern era that recognizes the power of open
collaborative development models.

  There is some good news.  There is work internationally to convince
groups like the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to
modernize their thinking.  There is talk about a development agenda that
includes a strong recognition of collaborative development, as well as
specific meeting requests.

Read more at: http://www.cptech.org/ip/wipo/

  It is also time for those on the political persuasion that StraightGoods
speaks to (the left) to also modernize their thinking.  Some of the
strongest opponents to collaborative development and distribution of
literary works in Canada come from the Writers Union and Access Copyright,
two groups formed by the industrial-era writers who now oppose any attempt
to experiment with new business models and motivations for creativity.  
They recently convinced parliament to impose monopoly-rent-seeking
business models onto the previously recognized as royalty-free public
Internet (that part of the Internet not behind a "membership required"  
feature), and are spending a considerable amount of time writing articles
and letters to the editor to defend this outdated thinking.

  If you wish to learn more about copyright revision in Canada, see
http://www.digital-copyright.ca/

-- 
 Russell McOrmond, Internet Consultant: <http://www.flora.ca/> 
 Code is Law: how software code regulates the activities of citizens,
 and acts similar to law.  How do we ensure transparency/accountability?  
 http://www.flora.ca/russell/drafts/code-is-law.html
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