Intellectual property. Social embedding and functional equivalents

Outline

The project sets out to understand whether ownership of the public goods of knowledge and information needs to be reorganised in the post-industrial economy. Certain access restrictions have become problematic: how are they enforced and justified? What new structures are being developed to control and utilise knowledge and information, perhaps even without the need for exclusive ownership rights?

What conflicts emerge when a small number of players profit from far-reaching processes of intellectual exchange? What solutions may be feasible? During the first round of funding, the researchers intend to examine the ecologies of internet companies and online communities to generate empirically grounded, theoretical answers to these questions.

Project activities

Publications

Scientific publications

van den Ecker, Marlen; Reitz, Tilman; Sevignani, Sebastian: “The common production of economic advantages. Towards an activity-based theory of rent in informational capitalism“, Special Issue in Review of Political Economy, (forthcoming).
Theine, Hendrik; Sevignani, Sebastian (eds.): “Media Property and Media Ownership: Current Challenges”, Special Issue in the European Journal of Communication, (forthcoming).
Theine, Hendrik; Sevignani, Sebastian (eds.): “Media Property: New Explorations in Media and Communication Studies”, Special Section in the International Journal of Communication, (forthcoming).
Reitz, Tilman (2024): “Das Gemeinsame, das Ausschließliche und das Unrentable. Funktionsprobleme des postindustriellen Kapitalismus”, In: Silke van Dyk, Tilman Reitz und Hartmut Rosa (eds.): Nach dem Privateigentum? Güter, Infrastrukturen und Weltverhältnisse im Kapitalismus des 21. Jahrhunderts, Frankfurt: Campus, 49–130.
Kempf, Victor; Sevignani, Sebastian; Fraser, Nancy (2023): “Capitalism and Contested Publicity. A Conversation with Nancy Fraser”, In: Philosophy & Social Criticism 50 (1), 66-79, DOI: 10.1177/01914537231203555
Reitz, Tilman; Sevignani, Sebastian; van den Ecker, Marlen (2023): “Eigentum im digitalen Kapitalismus. Ökonomie, Recht und Praxis” [“Property in digital capitalism. Economy, Law and Practice”, In: Tanja Carstensen, Simon Schaupp und Sebastian Sevignani (eds.): Theorien des digitalen Kapitalismus, Berlin: Suhrkamp, 264–84.
van den Ecker, Marlen; Reitz, Tilman; Sevignani, Sebastian (2023): “Between Openness and Exclusion. Property and Profitability in the Information Economy”, Working Paper Nr. 2, Sonderforschungsbereich/Transregio 294 “Strukturwandel des Eigentums“.

Media and podcasts

van den Ecker, Marlen (2024): “KI ist das neue große Ding im digitalen Kapitalismus. Und nun?”, Interview with Radio F.R.E.I. Erfurt (27.05.2024).
van den Ecker, Marlen (2023): “Leben im Metaverse? Was dann?”, guest article for Zukunft-Podcast of tagesschau (01.06.2023).
van den Ecker, Marlen (2023): “Z-Library: Geteiltes Wissen”, article in nd (27.02.2023).
van den Ecker, Marlen (2022): “Eigentum im Wandel”, interview for Podcast Corporate Therapy (05.09.2022).
Fischer, Georg (2022): “Die kleinste lizenzierbare Einheit: Schrumpfen oder Multiplikation von Eigentumsansprüchen?”, SFB-Blog „Transformation of Property” (veröffentlicht am 30.08.2022).
van den Ecker, Marlen (2022): “Unfassbar geistloses Eigentum”, article in nd (14.02.2022).
Fischer, Georg (2022): “Academic piracy”, SFB blog “Transformation of Property” (published on 19.01.2022).
Reitz, Tilman (2022): “How the transition to Open Access is changing scientific publishing”, SFB blog “Transformation of Property” (published on 19.01.2022).

Lectures

Marlen van den Ecker: “KI ist nicht intelligent, aber wir sind nicht klug genug“, lecture and discussion for the critical semester program of the University of Erfurt, Erfurt (29.05.2024)
Marlen van den Ecker: “KI ist nicht intelligent, aber wir sind nicht klug genug. Warum Gehirne relevant bleiben” [“AI is not intelligent but we’re not smart enough. Why brains will stay relevant”]. Lecture and discussion at the workshop „Was tun mit KI: Sozialismus aus dem Rechner oder Techno-Dystopie?“, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung Brandenburg, Potsdam (11.11.2023)
Marlen van den Ecker: “Beyond Reality – Metaverse und die Plattformgesellschaft“ ] [“Beyond Reality – The Metaverse and the Platform Society ”]. Talk and discussion at the Weizenbaum Forum of the Weizenbaum Institute (20.04.23)
Sebastian Sevignani und Marlen van den Ecker: “Geistiges Eigentum und funktionale Äquivalente im Digitalen Kapitalismus“ [“Intellectual property and functional equivalents in digital capitalism”]. Talk for the German Sociological Society DGS, University of Bielefeld. (28.09.2022)

Events

Book presentation of the collected volume Theorien des digitalen Kapitalismus [“Theories of digital capitalism”], Friedrich Schiller University Jena (01.02.2024)
Co-organisation of the conference “Wissenschaftliche Publikationskulturen im Zeitalter von Open Access” [“Scientific Publication Cultures in the Age of Open Access”] together with the Thuringian University and State Library ThULB (30.11.– 01.12.2023)
Workshop series with Mercator Fellow Cecilia Rikap (May 2023)
Participation in the 41st Congress “Polarisierte Welten” [“Polarised Worlds”] of the German Sociological Association (DGS), Bielefeld University (26.–30.09.2022)
Workshop “The Materiality of Immaterial Goods”, [invited guests: Alexander Peukert, Cicilia Ricap, Parminder Seeth Singh, Melanie Dulong de Rosnay, Stefano Zacchiroli, Susanne Draheim and Kai von Luck, Stefano Zacchiroli, Philipp Staab, Barbara Brandl, Tobias Kämpf]. SFB 294, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (23. –24.06.2022)
Co-organisation of the conference of the Network Critical Communication Studies “Eigentum, Medien, Öffentlichkeit” [“Property, Media, Public Sphere”]. WU Vienna, Austria (12. – 14.05.2022)