by Philip Aigrain, of the European Commission, and formerly of UC Berkeley. 14 pages.

Abstract: This paper proposes a reversal in how to consider the rights associated with information, media contents, software and other intellectual entities. Intellectual property, forgetting its original purpose, now mostly focuses on granting the ability to restrict usage of intellectual entities. It then defines a number of exceptions to cope with the adverse effects of such a restriction. On the contrary, the proposed approach sets as its basis a number of positive intellectual rights, defined as to enable wide societal production and exchange of intellectual entities. It then defines how granting of specific attributes of property is necessary as to ensure that the positive rights are not abused to the detriment of some basic values, and are implemented in reality.

Such a reversal allows [us] to exploit the benefits of information and communication technology, for instance the much greater plurality of creators and information sources, the much greater and quicker visibility and accessibility of intellectual entities, or new tools and processes for the assessment, the criticism and the analysis of intellectual productions. More generally, it [creates rights] for the technology of the intangible, whether biotechnology or other technologies based on the manipulation of information entities in complex processes. To derive practical features of intellectual rights, one has to differentiate in detail between varieties of intellectual entities (according to how they can be produced, used and exchanged) and between facets of intellectual rights. By doing so, one is able to propose a framework that truly serves creators without unduly restricting information exchanges.

(Forwarded throuh RRE; this document was translated/rewritten by the author from the original in French)