The Withering Away of Property: The Rise of the Internet Information Commons

Author: John Cahir

Source: Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Volume 24, Number 4, Winter 2004 , pp. 619-641(23)

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Abstract:

The phenomenon of volunteer produced and freely disseminated information is a significant feature of the digitally networked environment. Notwithstanding recent expansions of copyright law and the development of rights management technology the Internet remains a platform for the free distribution of information and ideas. This article argues that, contrary to the predictions of enclosure, a flourishing commons exists in respect of information that is communicated via the Internet. The commons, however, remains a relatively under-theorized concept in political and legal theory. This article explores the meaning of ‘the commons’ and its relationship to property and advances it as a useful explanatory tool for describing free information environments in cyberspace.

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute, Queen Mary, University of London.

Publication date: 2004-12-01

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The Oxford Journal of Legal Studies is published on behalf of the Faculty of Law in the University of Oxford. It is designed to encourage interest in all matters relating to law, with an emphasis on matters of theory and on broad issues arising from the relationship of law to other disciplines. No topic of legal interest is excluded from consideration. In addition to traditional questions of legal interest, the following are all within the purview of the journal: comparative and international law, the law of the European Community, legal history and philosophy, and interdisciplinary material in areas of relevance.