Re-examining intellectual property rights in the context of standardization, innovation and the public sphere

Processes of standardization and innovation exist in creative tension—both complementary and opposing—vital to the advancement of our technological civilization. Intellectual property rights (IPR) bear an uneasy and unclear relationship to these processes. This paper examines the cultural roots of the IPR system and its relationship to innovation, creation and invention; then considers the political economy of IPR in the current business models and practices, the role of standards bodies and the need to re-conceptualize the public sphere. The paper suggests that current IPR practices risk harming our global system by privatizing knowledge and processes that ought to be kept public. Mr. Schoechle received his BS in Administrative Science from the Pepperdine University School of Management in 1973 and his MS in Telecommunications from the University of Colorado, College of Engineering and Applied Science in 1995. He expects to complete his PhD in Communication at the UC in 2002. Mr. Schoechle has been active in computer and telecommunications hardware and software engineering for nearly 30 years. He is an entrepreneur and has participated in many U.S. and international standards committees. Mr. Schoechle currently serves as a faculty member of the Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program at the University of Colorado, where he also is Interim Director of the International Center for Standards Research (ICSR).