Life Sciences are set to become the driver of 21st century economic and national competitiveness, much as Information technology was at the end of the 20th century. Janet Hope's Biobazaar: The Open Source Revolution and Biotechnology takes on a fundamental question that will determine where innovation happens in biotechnology: Who owns what pieces of intellectual property in this system, and what can they do with what they own? Her thoughtful and non-ideological assessment of the problem leads to a powerful analogy with software and the open source model for producing complex knowledge goods. Can an open source style economy in life sciences change the landscape of innovation, and for the better? Hope provides a much-needed, reasoned guide to thinking through that critical question.
Yochai Benkler
Biobazaar is the first book dedicated to studying current efforts at open biological innovation. It is a well-researched and thoughtful analysis of the great potential that such innovation holds for improving the ways we address some of our most basic human needs.
— Yochai Benkler, author of the Wealth of Networks
Steven Weber
Life Sciences are set to become the driver of 21st century economic and national competitiveness, much as Information technology was at the end of the 20th century. Janet Hope's Biobazaar: The Open Source Revolution and Biotechnology takes on a fundamental question that will determine where innovation happens in biotechnology: Who owns what pieces of intellectual property in this system, and what can they do with what they own? Her thoughtful and non-ideological assessment of the problem leads to a powerful analogy with software and the open source model for producing complex knowledge goods. Can an open source style economy in life sciences change the landscape of innovation, and for the better? Hope provides a much-needed, reasoned guide to thinking through that critical question.
— Steven Weber, author of The Success of Open Source
