University Seminar
COSI 26a
Property in the Information Age
Tues and Friday, 1:40-3:00
Professor: Jordan B. Pollack
213 Volen Center, 736 2713
Pollack@cs.brandeis.edu
TA: Kristian Kime
111 Volen Center, 736 3366
Kristian@cs.brandeis.edu
Course Summary
Money has evolved from gold to paper bank notes, and now to ÒbitsÓ in institutional computers represented by a plastic card. In fact, electronic transfer of money is more normal than the exchange of printed paper money or coin.
Wealth we thought was surplus human labor, but jobs in manufacturing using human labor to produce ÒthingsÓ are getting rare. Most modern professions are either services, or are involved in "content-production", creating intellectual property (IP) or designing systems which have economic value. Sometimes, your work is used once. Other times, your boss can Òpay you onceÓ and make a fortune replicating copies of your work. If you were an author or musician, you would expect a royalty, but what if you merely program or draw graphics? Should you get equity in your own creative work?
Property used to mean tangible things you possess Ð your house, car, tools, books, clothes. You "buy" a book, and can loan it to a friend to read and sell it in a garage sale when you are done. We used to buy vinyl records, like we bought books, but now many people get music online Òfor free.Ó
Welcome to
the wild world of IP.
At the core is the notion of ÒlicensingÓ which has been the boon of the packaged software world. You think you are buying a disk, but you are merely licensing software, and may not return, loan, rent, or sell it.
The publisher may declare your software license worthless with an upgrade.
And you may not even get a disk, but have to transfer money in exchange for downloading a file.
Why canÕt you sell that file later for money? Players of Everquest sell their Òvirtual realtyÓ on Ebay!
In this seminar, we will read and talk about the history and future of such concepts as copyrights, copylefts, patents, licensing, public domain, fair-use, network effects, interfaces, caching, framing, work-for-hire, joint tenancy, digital cash, micro-payments, software freedom, upgrades, Warez, Napster and its spawn, electronic read-once books, as well as laws like UCITA and DMCA. Our goal is to collectively understand: ÒWhat, exactly, is the information age doing to the core human concept of property?Ó
READINGS: Various Texts and Papers from the literature.
There are 16-18 class ÒeventsÓ lead by students.
You will take TWO
turns leading the discussion as part of a collaborative team
, presenting the topic and focusing critical discussion or debate. The reading is not the END of the discussion, but the beginning, and you can bring in other related resources and updates. Presentations should not be formal lectures, but dramatic events which develop, focus and engage the energy of the class. The format is open for creativity: Use of Props, Powerpoints, related Web sites, Skits, Music, Debates, etc are all allowed.
The more interruptions and interaction with the class the better, as the default model of two people taking turns presenting power points leads to boredom (and the second person running out of time). Teams should meet before class to plan their event; The CS office can help turn paper to transparencies. The room will have an LCD projector and internet/wireless access.
Everyone except the MCÕs
is responsible for writing a question for discussion about the topic on an index card and bringing it to class.
If you donÕt come to class, you canÕt submit a question.
Each will be graded 0, 1, or 2.
These cards act as an attendance record and class partipation; your best 10 scores will count, and if you donÕt talk in class, you will be asked to read your question aloud!
These 5 double-spaced pages will be on assigned topics. See the Calender for assignment and due dates.
Term research based paper of around 9-10 pages will be on your own choice of topic (though I will supply various ideas). Research should begin right after the second paper, and involve library and web search, and use
at least 5 citations which are not websites. A brief topic and outline proposal is due earlier, so the Professor can advise if necessary.
Attendance in USEM is considered Mandatory. Plagiarism, or using un-attributed materials, downloading papers from Òterm paperÓ websites can result in academic discipline or expulsion.
Anyone with documented special needs seeking accommodation should contact the Professor at the beginning of the semester, not upon the deadline for an assignment.