Opening Doors and Smashing Windows: Alternative Measures for Funding Software Development by Dean Baker, October 2005
The computer software industry is usually considered to be at the cutting edge of U.S. technology. At the same time, the industry relies largely on government protectionism in the form of copyrights and patents, relics of the feudal guild system, to finance the development of new software. The reliance on these antiquated mechanisms leads to both economic inefficiency for the economy as a whole, and poorer quality software than would be possible in an environment in which all software was placed in the public domain. This paper outlines the ways in which patents and copyrights in software lead to economic inefficiency. It also presents alternative mechanisms that could be used to finance the software development that is currently supported by copyright or patent protection. Specifically, it suggests that a mix of a system of direct government funding for software development and a system of individual vouchers could be a more efficient mechanism for financing
the development of new software. All the new software developed under both systems would be placed in the public domain so that it could be used
at zero cost and freely modified by other developers.
Full PDF (20 Pages of Reading):
http://www.cepr.net/publications/windows_2005_10.pdf
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