REINVENTING COPYRIGHT LICENSING: THE CASE STUDY OF THE COPYRIGHT HUB

Abstract

To go beyond prevalent snapshot studies of innovation, this research draws upon the Biographies of Artifacts and Practices (BOAP) approach, which informs the methodological choice of multi-site, longitudinal fieldwork. A rich account of the unfolding of a field of innovation is provided, combining archival and contemporary ethnographic sources. The analysis applies concepts from the sociology of expectations (and in particular ‘arenas of expectations’) to understand the process by which visions and expectations are mobilised to accumulate public and private funding and support, as well as understanding the dynamics of development of the Copyright Hub project. These notions are complemented by Abbott’s concept of “linked ecologies”, which helps in scrutinising the interrelation of actors within the policy-making ecology and its neighbouring ecologies of business and IP standard development. In addition, Abbott’s discussion on “things of boundaries” provides a helpful template for conceptualising the processes through which protected spaces are constructed.