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Wybo is a sociologist and PhD/DPhil student at the Oxford Internet Institute.

He studies online social behaviour. Especially: How social media affect protest movements such as the Arab Spring and Occupy Wallstreet. More...

Also: MSc in Social Science of the Internet, MA in Digital Humanities (distinction), 3 BAs (firsts/cum laude) in History, Philosophy of Information Science and Information Science

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Articles tagged "Copyrights"

Enclosures of the Mind:

Intellectual Property from a Global Perspective

The copyright system has become morally problematic and alternatives should be developed.

It is outdated first of all: Copyrights were initially introduced as regulation for the printing industry. But due to the spread of digital technology, copyrights now reach into all personal communication. Making upholding it not only impossible, but also mutually exclusive with privacy.

Second, in essence it consists of creating artificial scarcity. It negates the third reasons for why markets are effective in the physical realm: 1) decentralized decision-making, 2) efficient allocation of investments, 3) efficient use of resources. Not restricted use, but ubiquitous use is efficient for digital goods, because they can be multiplied at zero cost.

A levy-system could replace it.