Does Information Beget Information?

Duke Law & Technology Review, Vol. 1, 2007

20 Pages Posted: 29 May 2009

See all articles by Dennis S. Karjala

Dennis S. Karjala

Arizona State University College of Law

Date Written: 2007

Abstract

Using the language of mathematics, Professor Polk Wagner has recently argued that the impossibility of fully appropriating the value of information in a rights holder leads to the surprising conclusion that expanding the degree of control of intellectual property rights will, in the long run, increase the sum total of information not subject to ownership claims and therefore available as part of the cultural and technological base on which new growth and development can occur. Indeed, he claims that open information will grow according to the formula for compound interest, where the interest rate is 100% plus or minus a factor z supposedly related to creation incentives. This article demonstrates that Professor Wagner's mathematical analysis is simply wrong and does not lead to any of the conclusions he reaches concerning the growth of open information. It also shows both the difficulties and the dangers of the lay use of the language of mathematics in resolving complex social problems even if one does the math correctly.

Keywords: Polk Wagner, Mathematics, Growth of Open Information

Suggested Citation

Karjala, Dennis S., Does Information Beget Information? (2007). Duke Law & Technology Review, Vol. 1, 2007, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1411449

Dennis S. Karjala (Contact Author)

Arizona State University College of Law ( email )

Box 877906
Tempe, AZ 85287-7906
United States
480-965-4010 (Phone)
480-965-2427 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.public.asu.edu/~dkarjala

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