Defining property rights in cyberspace is perhaps the single most urgent and important task for government information policy … The key principle of ownership by the people – private ownership – should govern every deliberation. Government does not own cyberspace, the people do … Ambiguous property rights are an invitation to litigation, channeling energy into courtrooms that serve no customers and create no wealth. From patent to copyright systems for software, to challenges over ownership and use of spectrum, the present system is failing in this simple regard. The source of AmericaÕs historic economic success can, in case after case, be traced to our wisdom in creating and allocating clear, enforceable property rights. The creation and exploration of cyberspace requires that wisdom be recalled and reaffirmed.
Predictor: Dyson, Esther
Prediction, in context:The 1995 book “The Information Revolution,” edited by Donald Altschiller, carries a reprint of the Fall 1994, New Perspectives Quarterly article “Magna Carta for the Knowledge Age,” by social critics Esther Dyson, George Gilder, Jay Keyworth and Alvin Toffler. They write: ÒDefining property rights in cyberspace is perhaps the single most urgent and important task for government information policy. Doing so will be a complex task, and each key area – the electromagnetic spectrum, intellectual property rights, cyberspace itself (including the right to privacy) – involves unique challenges. The important points here are: First, this is a central task of government. A Third Wave government will understand the importance and urgency of this undertaking and begin seriously to address it; to fail to do so is to perpetuate the politics and policy of the Second Wave. Second, the key principle of ownership by the people – private ownership – should govern every deliberation. Government does not own cyberspace, the people do. Third, clarity is essential. Ambiguous property rights are an invitation to litigation, channeling energy into courtrooms that serve no customers and create no wealth. From patent to copyright systems for software, to challenges over ownership and use of spectrum, the present system is failing in this simple regard. The source of AmericaÕs historic economic success can, in case after case, be traced to our wisdom in creating and allocating clear, enforceable property rights. The creation and exploration of cyberspace requires that wisdom be recalled and reaffirmed.Ó
Biography:Esther Dyson was founding editor of Release 1.0 and a consultant and expert on computing and high-tech applications. She served as the president of EDventure Holdings. She founded the PC Forum, an annual conference and industry event. She had the highest profile of the women of technology in the 1990s. (Futurist/Consultant.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Controversial Issues
Subtopic: Copyright/Intellectual Property/Plagiarism
Name of publication: The Information Revolution (book)
Title, headline, chapter name: Magna Carta for the Knowledge Age
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Pages 61, 62
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne