Title: Considerations on the governance of open data - an institutional economic perspective

Authors: Michael Litschka; Tassilo Pellegrini

Addresses: Department of Media Economics, University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten, Matthias Corvinus-Str. 15, 3100 St. Pölten, Austria ' Department of Media Economics, University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten, Matthias Corvinus-Str. 15, 3100 St. Pölten, Austria

Abstract: This paper lays theoretical foundations for the governance of Open Data as a specific form of intellectual property management. Based on a literature survey it develops a simple model for governing open data. Using commodity theory considerations, the authors devise a classification that highlights the special properties and economic effects of Open Data as club goods and non-depletable commons. Open Data has implications that facilitate market concentration, even though these mechanisms tend to be obscured by the ostensible non-commercial and public-good character of Open Data initiatives. Consequently, the authors argue that enhanced governance principles - which also take into account the widely neglected competition effects of Open Data - are required for the appropriate management of Open Data and intellectual common pool resources (or -non-depletable commons-). By referring to Ostrom-s governance considerations for commons, the authors show that -trust-, -transparency-, -communication- and -sanctions- are core concepts in the governance of open data.

Keywords: open data; common pool resources; knowledge commons; permissive licensing; protective licensing; governance of open data; institutional economics; media policy; intellectual property management; commodity theory; market concentration; governance principles; governance model.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIPM.2019.103028

International Journal of Intellectual Property Management, 2019 Vol.9 No.3/4, pp.247 - 263

Received: 21 Jun 2018
Accepted: 20 Mar 2019
Published online: 14 Oct 2019 *

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