The Value of the Public Domain

[Jo Walsh]

dear geodata people, 

I'd like to recommend this recent paper by the Cambridge economist
Rufus Pollock on "The Value of the Public Domain" for the Institute of
Public Policy research:
http://blog.okfn.org/2006/07/14/the-value-of-the-public-domain-published/

This is a general-readership overview presenting a very positive case
for open access to knowledge, and uses both the Open Source movement
and the contrasting climate around publically-produced geographic
information in the US and Europe as examples - citing Harlan Onsrud's
work and several of the classic pro-open-geodata studies. Good context
for positioning open geodata at the forefront of a broader debate on
open data access; excellent airplane reading ;) 

cheers, 


jo