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Nanotechnology and the Challenges of Equity, Equality and Development pp 331–347Cite as

Open Access Nanotechnology for Developing Countries: Lessons from Open Source Software

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Part of the book series: Yearbook of Nanotechnology in Society ((YNTS,volume 2))

Abstract

Experience has shown that there is no quick fix that enables developing countries to benefit from technological development. Even strategies designed with specific social goals in mind rarely succeed unless there is great attention to the details. For instance some observers have claimed that tight intellectual property (IP) protection prevents developing countries from accessing the benefits of emerging technologies and they should, therefore, develop other strategies. In this chapter, Dhanaraj Thakur explores one such strategy—an “open access” system of IP in developing countries. He uses open source software to illustrate the range of possible property arrangements.

This chapter was peer reviewed. It was originally presented at the Workshop on Nanotechnology, Equity, and Equality at Arizona State University on November 22, 2008.

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Acknowledgements

I would like the thank Jameson Wetmore and an anonymous reviewer for their useful comments on the original version on this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Dhanaraj Thakur

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  1. Dhanaraj Thakur
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Correspondence to Dhanaraj Thakur .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Oak Brooke Way 1147, Atlanta, 30319, USA

    Susan E. Cozzens

  2. Center for Nanotechnology in Society, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA

    Jameson Wetmore

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Thakur, D. (2010). Open Access Nanotechnology for Developing Countries: Lessons from Open Source Software. In: Cozzens, S., Wetmore, J. (eds) Nanotechnology and the Challenges of Equity, Equality and Development. Yearbook of Nanotechnology in Society, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9615-9_20

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