To the extent that an entity in the social economy is operating for altruistic reasons , it is hard to find a justification for keeping intellectual property secret.  If the intellectual property could advance society in some other party’s hands then it should be shared.

There is one circumstance that might explain this behaviour; and that is in the situation where society will be better off in the long run if the intellectual property is held closely for some period of time.  And example of this situation may occur in the early phase stage of an organisation’s. In this phase, the organisation might choose to keep ‘the magic juice’ under wraps until it is established and can withstand competition.   But even in this scenario, there is an argument to say that the information should be released; and if another organisation can make better use of it sooner, then they should do so.

It is our view that in most cases, intellectual property in the sector should be shared using the open source model.  Under this strategy, intellectual property is freely shared within a legal framework and licence requiring the work to be attributed and for any derivative works to also be provided free under the same licence.

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