The document summarizes an upcoming conference on knowledge commons. It will bring together researchers from various fields to discuss institutional arrangements for collaborative scientific research. The conference includes keynote speakers and sessions on topics like open access publishing, constructing commons in intellectual resources, enabling access to research data internationally, and the historical experience of knowledge commons. The event will take place September 12-14, 2012 in Belgium, organized by universities and research organizations. It aims to address governing pooled knowledge resources and building sustainable commons for scientific, cultural and genetic resources.

1. International Association for the Study of the Commons
GOVERNING POOLED KNOWLEDGE RESOURCES:
The rapid advances in technologies and digital networks over
the past two decades have significantly altered and improved The event includes introductory sessions by high level key-note
the ways that data and information can be produced, speakers, parallel sessions with selected papers from the call for
disseminated, managed, and used, in science, innovation, papers and three policy panels organized at the end of each
culture, and in many other spheres of human endeavor, and afternoon.
have created unprecedented opportunities for developing new
polices. The list of keynote speakers include Samir K Brahmachari, Carlos
Correa, Paul A. David, Emile Frison, Bronwyn H. Hall, Robin
These developments are part of the emerging broader Mansell, Anil Markandya, Joel Mokyr, Jerome Reichman, Jakob
movement in support of formal and informal “peer production” Rhyner, Paul F. Uhlir.
and global dissemination of information by mobilizing the
cooperation of distributed knowledge communities in open
networked environments.
WHERE AND WHEN
Indeed, as recognized increasingly in the
literature, the emerging economics of 12-14th September 2012, Université
knowledge in the digital environment can be catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve,
seen as a complex mix of social sharing and Belgium
exchange in self-governed communities of
peers as a modality of production, along with The conference is organized by BIOGOV unit
public support and private appropriation as an at Université catholique de Louvain
incentive for translating knowledge outputs into (biogov.uclouvain.be) and Institutions for
new commercial applications. Collective Action at Universiteit Utrecht
(www.collective-action.info).
THE EVENT Conference site:
http://biogov.uclouvain.be/iasc/
The 1st Global Thematic IASC Conference
on the Knowledge Commons brings together
leading people from a number of international scientific OPTIONS FOR PARTICIPATION
research communities, social science researchers, practitioners
and policy analysts, to discuss the rationale and practical 1. Conference package (including conference reception with
feasibility of institutional arrangements designed to emulate key special event on Wednesday evening, diner on Thursday
public domain conditions for collaborative research. evening, lunches and coffee breaks, local transport and
conference documents):
The 6 thematic sub-areas that will be addressed in the
conference are: Cultural Commons, Genetic Resource - Full conference: 205 EUR for IASC members, 265 EUR for
Commons, Scientific Research Commons, Historical non-members;
Knowledge Commons, Digital information commons, Innovative - 1 day: 110 EUR Wed, 110 EUR Thu, 45 EUR Fri.
Intellectual Property Governance.
2. Attending conference sessions only: no fee (however,
registration by email is required to heike.ramer@uclouvain.be).
More information & registration: http://biogov.uclouvain.be/iasc/

2. Institutions for
CPDR Collective Action
IASC
International Association for the Study of the Commons
1st Thematic Conference on the Knowledge Commons
Governing Pooled Knowledge Resources:
Building Institutions for Sustainable Scientific, Cultural and Genetic
Resource Commons
12-14th September 2012
Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Preliminary detailed program of key-note sessions and full paper parallel
sessions
Organized by:
Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Belgium
Utrecht University, Netherlands
Conference Co-chairs
Tom Dedeurwaerdere (Tom.dedeurwaerdere@uclouvain.be)
Tine De Moor (t.demoor@uu.nl)
In Collaboration with
CODATA (International Council for Science : Committee on Data for Science and Technology) : GICSI taks group
on Global Information Commons for Science
Faculté Universitaire Notre-Dame de la Paix (FUNDP), Belgium
Ghent University, Belgium
International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC)
UNU-Merit (Maastricht)
and the Support of
The National Science Foundation, Belgium
Codata International
Fonds voor wetenschappelijk onderzoek NL

3. Program key-note topics
Wednesday 12 September, 9:00-10:30
Contractually reconstructing data and information commons for global climate change research
Prof. Paul David, Stanford, US and Telecom-ParisTech, France
Promoting open access to digital knowledge resources
Prof. Robin Mansell, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
Thursday 13 September, 9:00-10:30
Open source drugs discovery as a model for commons based innovation in global public health
Prof. Samir K Brahmachari, Director, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India
The role of the global Crop Commons in supporting livelihoods and food security in developing
countries.
Emile Frison, Director General of Bioversity International, Italy
Friday 14th of September, 9:00-10:30
Sharing of knowledge, technological evolution and economic growth: a historical overview
Prof. Joel Mokyr, Northwestern University, US
Innovative intellectual property strategies for pooling knowledge and technologies in addressing
global challenges.
Prof. Bronwyn Hall, University of Berkeley, US
Friday 14th of September, 14:00-15:30
Concluding conference session and policy forum on Climate Change : “Towards a Global Science
and Technology Policy Agenda for mitigating climate change”
Prof. Anil Markandya, Director of Basque Center for Climate Change lead (author of the IPCC report)
Jakob Rhyner, Director of United Nation University, Bonn

4. Draft Program Sessions
TRACK 1: “Scientific Research and Innovation Commons”
Beginning with the open source software movement in the 1980s, digital technologies have been
applied for the global sharing of data and literature in various research fields, leading in the past
decade to an explosion of research and innovation commons in almost all scholarly disciplines and
knowledge contexts. In recent years, these disparate commons, developed largely from the bottom-
up by the researchers who saw the need and the capabilities and seized the initiative, have begun to
be institutionalized from the top-down by research funding agencies, science policy organizations,
and even some legislatures. The researchers themselves have moved beyond the development of
initial commons designed for specific information types and narrow discipline use, to more
integrated and holistic “open knowledge environments” that take full advantage of the advancing
digitally networked technologies. It is therefore both timely and appropriate to take stock of where
we have been, what the current landscape of scientific research and innovation commons is, and
where we can and should be going. This track of the Conference, therefore, will examine issues such
as:
• The historical, current, and future trends in the development of institutional and governance
models for scientific research and innovation commons, and the variability in disciplines.
• The relative strengths and weaknesses of fully open, semi-commons, and proprietary
approaches to research and the progress of science, in both the public and private sector
contexts.
• The institutional sustainability of different digitally networked commons in different sectors.
• The social, cultural, and political norms and practices that are both enabling and inhibiting
the development of research and innovation commons.
• Evaluation techniques for better understanding the positive and negative effects of digital
commons, specifically on the progress of science and innovation, and on economic growth
and social welfare more generally.
• Strategies for promoting successful approaches to institutionalizing such commons.
Session 1: Open access publishing and journal policies
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
Evaluating the Role of Editorial BANDEH- University of Maryland USA
Decisions on Innovation AHMADI Ayeh
Landscapes
Facilitating open data and code: STODDEN Columbia University USA
The role of journal policy Victoria

5. Quality Attributes of Online NIV Tal UC Berkeley & Creative USA
Creative Enterprise and Its Commons
Regulation
Session 2: Constructing commons in Intellectual Resources: A Research Framework and
Case Studies
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
Constructing Commons in MADISON University of Pittsburgh USA
Intellectual Resources Michael School of Law
Commons Formation and Patent CONTRERAS American University, USA
Deterrence: Assessing the Jorge Washington College of Law
Genomics Experience
The Rare Diseases Clinical STRANDBURG New York University USA
Research Network as a Nested Katherine
Cultural Commons
Session 3: Enabling access to research data: comparing international and regional
initiatives in developed and developing countries
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
Enabling access to research data FITZGERALD Queensland University of Australia
in developing countries: Anne Technology, Brisbane
designing a policy and practice
framework for Malaysia’s public (co-author
research universities HASHIM Haswira
Nor Mohamad,
Australia)
Building shared language VILLE Oksanen Aalto University Finland
research environments inside
European Union – how to (co-author
optimize the system based on LINDEN Krister,
experiences from real life Finland)
Status of Research Data and MKONDIWA Bunda College of Agriculture Malawi
Information Sharing in Malawi Maxwell
Centre for Agricultural Malawi
Research and Development
Common knowledge and Human LARA Arturo Universidad Autonoma Mexico
Genome Project: Institutional Metropolitana
Trajectories (co-author
OSORIO Helder,
Mexico)

6. Session 4: Public-private partnerships and research collaborations in life science
research
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
Plant biotechnologies: what is TROMMETTER GAEL UMR INRA UPMF France
common and what remains Michel Grenoble
private?
Ecole Polytechnique, Paris France
Genetic Resource Commons: A PATNAIK Wageningen University Netherlands
Case study of Central Rice Archana
Research Institute (India)
(co-author
RUIVENKAMP
Guido,
Netherlands)
Value, norms and practices in LOUAFI Selim CIRAD France
plant biodiversity-based
research and innovation (co-authors
commons ARNAUD
Elizabeth, Italy,
BARTHELEMY
Daniel, France,
NOYER Jean-
Louis, France,
PHAM Jean-
Louis, France)
Networking collections to SMITH David CABI UK
provide facilitated and
legislation compliant access to
microbial resources
Session 5: Legal and institutional design of global scientific research collaborations
(Titles of this session might still slightly change)
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
When Copyright Law and Jerome Duke Law School USA
Science Collide: Empowering Reichman
Digitally Integrated Research
Methods on a Global Scale
Designing global scientific Paul Uhlir National Academy of USA
collaborations for scientific Sciences
research data. The example of
GEOSS
Trends in technology transfer: Carlos Correa University of Buenos Argentina
implications for developing Aires/South Centre
countries

7. Track 2: “Digital Information Commons”
Digital and network technologies make it easier to share information, whether in the commons or
not. Building upon these technical possibilities, various communities define rules of use and re-use of
these resources (such as through common use licensing) that support the good functioning of the
common digital knowledge resources. User communities may include artists, researchers, educators,
media, governments and the digital information potentially includes text, images, databases and
audiovisual material.
The emerging research field needs to develop theoretical exchanges with more grounded scientific
domains and areas of the commons. Besides, both researchers and advocates would benefit from
collecting documented use-cases and scalable argumentation on the impact of the digital commons
on economy, democracy, education, health and social welfare as a whole. Issues related to incentive
to share, incompatibilities, network effects, reputation and evaluation require further research to be
overcome and provide evidence and guidance for various user communities and policy-makers.
Session 6: Learning from Internet collaboration models
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
Collaborative Success and SCHWEIK University of Massachusetts, USA
Abandonment in Open Source Charles Amherst
Software Commons
(co-author
ENGLISH
Robert)
Social Responsibility Reporting on GARCÍA- University of Oviedo Spain
Open Source Developments GARCÍA Jesus
From the Tragedy of the DULONG DE Centre national de la France
Commons to the Tragedy of the ROSNAY recherche scientifique
Anticommons Melanie
(co-author LE
CROSNIER
Hervé, France)
The exploitation of digital labor DE FILIPPI CERSA France
Primavera

8. Session 7: Innovative IP management strategies for digital and scientific research
commons
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
The role of the Commons theory LORRAIN Anne- Université Paris-Sud 11 France
in revealing the collective nature Catherine
of copyright licensing: Max Planck Institute on Germany
Intellectual Property and
(re)introducing a public
Competition Law
perspective in the exchange of
protected information and
knowledge goods
Avoiding the Anticommons: BELDIMAN UC Hastings, San Francisco USA
Conditioning Release of Culture Dana
Collection Materials on an
Agreement to "Re-Bundle" IP
Rights
Ex-post Liability Rules in Modern CASTRO Rosa European University Italy
Copyright Law Institute
Openness and the Banking of GEORGE Carol University of Edinburgh UK
Human Stem Cells
Session 8: The governance of online creation communities: learning from case studies
and innovative models
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
Towards a new model of RALLET Alain Université Paris Sud France
knowledge production: What
Wikipedia can teach us? (co-author
ROCHELANDET
Fabrice, France)
The Tragedy of Scientific LUETHI Roger University of Zurich Switzerland
Commons
(co-authors
OSTERLOH
Margit,
Switzerland,
FREY Bruno,
Switzerland)
Mapping online creation FUSTER MORELL Berkman center for Internet Spain
communities for the building of Mayo and Society, Harvard
digital commons: Models of University
infrastructure governance of
collective action and its effects
on participation size and
complexity of collaboration
achieved
The role of web platform's IACOMELLA Institue of Sociology Argentina
governance in the Franco Research, Faculty of Social

9. development of Digital Sciences
Commons

10. TRACK 3: “Historical experience of the knowledge commons”
Although knowledge commons seem to be a fairly “new” concept, Europe has a long history of
similar institutionalized initiatives, which can in fact also serve as a source of inspiration for the
present day exchange of knowledge. One type of such an institution for collective action -and no
doubt the most important until the 19th century- was the craft guild which tried to limit professional
and personal risks for artisans, from the late middle ages onwards. Guild members their main
objective was to provide a minimal but secure income for their members. The capital good they
pooled in order to prevent running great risks, was their skill in combination with specific knowledge
about their craft: by joining and exchanging their knowledge and training, and taking advantage of
the scale of organization they could offer a uniform, high quality good, that would be sold at a
minimum price. The guild system enforced the rules of apprenticeship against free-riding and
exploitation and offered institutional and practical support to the migrant apprentices, journeymen,
and masters who transferred their knowledge from town and region of Europe to another.
Session 9: Historical Knowledge Commons and the history of the knowledge commons
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
Mutable bodies / immobile DE MUNCK Bert University of Antwerp Belgium
knowledge? Early modern guilds
as knowledge communities
Early Modern „knowledge POPPLOW Universität Salzburg Austria
commons“ to foster Marcus
technological innovation –
characteristics and paradoxes
Organizations of maritime SCHELTJENS University of Groningen Netherlands
transporters in the Low Werner
Countries, 1400-1800
Born to develop new knowledge TEDESCHI Paolo University of Milan Bicocca Italy
commons in agronomics: the
agrarian reviews in Lombardy
during the 19th century

11. TRACK 4: “Genetic Resource Commons”
Research on the exchange of genetic resources in various fields (microbial, animal and plant) shows
that networking collections or of genetic resources in global and local common pool resources is a
workable alternative to market-based solutions, which have been shown to be unable to generate
sufficient investment in the vast quantities of genetic resources that are neglected because of their
low commercial value or potential but as yet unknown future values.
For the improving our understanding of the design of these genetic resource commons however, a
more systematic approach, based on a systematic analysis of the structure of the exchanges
practices, the terms and conditions of exchanges, and the role of non-market values in the actors’
motivations is needed. The main issue that has to be addressed in this context is the creation of a
better fit between the design of institutional arrangements for building the genetic resource
commons and the norms and practices of the various user communities. Examples which illustrate,
amongst others, attempts in that direction are the use of standard material transfer agreements for
exchanges within the global crop and microbial commons ; breeding associations for animal genetic
resources, organizations for informal seed exchange in developing countries or participatory
breeding in the organic farming sector.
Session 10: Harmonization of governance arrangements for genetic-resource commons
under the CBD
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
The Pan-European project FRITZE Dagmar Leibniz-Institut DSMZ - Germany
Microbial Resource Research Deutsche Sammlung von
Infrastructure (MIRRI) Mikroorganismen und
Zellkulturen
Human Pathogens as Capstone VOGEL Joseph University of Puerto Rico Puerto Rico
Application of the Economics of Henry
Information to Convention on
Biological Diversity (co-author
HOCKING
Barbara Ann,
Puerto Rico)
Economy of knowledge BARBIER CIESM Monaco
Michele
Filling the Gap: from early BROGGIATO Université catholique de Belgium
international legal agreements Arianna Louvain
pertaining to global science to
new implementation perspectives
in the context of the Nagoya
protocol

12. Session 11: Open access licensing models from the life sciences and information:
potential applications for building a global agricultural research commons
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
Access to plant genetic DEIBEL Eric Institut Francilien Recherche France
resources: from access as an Innovation Société
accessory to international trade
rules to open licensing
Regulation of Human Gene LUCCHI Nicola Université catholique de Belgium
Patents and Scientific Commons: Louvain
The Myriad Controversy and its
Ramifications
Reconciling private and public FRISON Université catholique de Belgium
interests through collective Christine Louvain
action for food and agriculture:
The plant commons (co-authors
RAJOTTE
Tasmin, Canada,
TANSEY Geoff,
UK)
What kind of goods are plant HALEWOOD Biodiversity International Italy
genetic resources? Exploring the Michael
contours of a new global
commons
Session 12: Governing traditional knowledge and informal seed exchange networks for
sustainable rural development
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
Sustaining Informal Seed OLANYA David Gulu University Uganda
Exchange in Africa Ross
Paradigm shifts in plant BATUR Fulya Université catholique de Belgium
improvement innovation and Louvain
adequacy of intellectual property
rights for genetic resource
commons: institutional fit analysis

13. TRACK 5: “Cultural Commons”
“Cultural Commons” refer to cultures located in time and space – either physical or virtual - and
shared and expressed by a socially cohesive community. The concept of Cultural Commons proposes
a new perspective for studying and analyzing cultures and cultural production. The approach is based
on understanding cultures and cultural production as intangible resources shared by communities,
whose generation and maintenance involve social dilemmas and collective action. Examples are:
cultural district or cultural cluster in a city, a local language, the creativity expressed by designers’
communities or traditional knowledge of indigenous communities.
Cultural Commons may be analyzed and defined along three main dimensions: Cultural expression,
Space and Community. These dimensions are useful to understand cultures as a new category of
shared resources, which encompasses different forms of expression produced by various
communities and in several contexts. Cultural expression represents the resource that is produced
and managed in a commons-like framework. The spatial dimension reflects the environmental
characteristics wherein interactions take place between community members. Finally, the
community, built upon an identity and symbolic dimension, takes into account the cohesiveness of its
members and their involvement in the cultural process. The community can be described along the
density dimension, starting from a close-knit designers’ group to a loosely spread community of
players on massive multiplayer online games.
Session 13: The impact of cultural heritage legislation and policy on cultural commons
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
The Constitution and the DANIELS Brigham Young University USA
Commons Brigham
(co-author
HUDSON Blake,
USA)
Safeguarding intangible cultural SANTILLI Federal Prosecutors´ Office Brazil
heritage and “cultural commons” Juliana in Brasilia and Center for
in Brazil: advances and challenges Sustainable Development, of
University of Brasilia
Promoting the Genetic Resources SCARIA Arul Université catholique de Belgium
and Associated Traditional Louvain
Knowledge Based Innovations
through a Commons Based
Framework: Scope and
Challenges

14. Session 14: Impact of digital communication and intellectual property models on cultural
expression and knowledge of local and indigenous communities
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
Cultural Industries, Digital Divide CHAVEZ Manuel CIIDIR-Universidad de la Mexico
and Rural Development: The Sierra Sur
case of digital piracy in Oaxaca (co-author
SACNHEZ-
MEDINA
Patricia, Mexico)
Re-Making Place: The Social RANGNEKAR School of Law, University of UK
Construction of Geographical Dwijen Warwick
Indications
From Mayan Hackers to Cuban AVILA Renata Universidad Francisco Guatemala
Linux communities: the role of Marroquin - Creative
digital commons in Cuba and (co-author Commons Guatemala
Guatemala HERNANDEZ
Eduardo, Cuba)
Information and Communication ORTIZ Gabriela IASC Mexico
Technology as a tool to maintain
Common Property Rights
Session 15: Building innovative conceptual frameworks for studying cultural commons:
from theory to empirical analysis
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
Cooperation Preferences in the LANKAU Mathias Georg-August-Universität Germany
Production of Cultural Göttingen
Resources - Experimental (co-author BIZER
Evidence on the Effects of Kilian, Germany)
Social Identity
From local to global cultural PARENTI Orientale University Naples Italy
commons? A theoretical and Benedetta
empirical assessment
(co-author DE
SIMONE Elina,
Italy)

15. Session 16: Redesigning copyright law for cultural expressions and traditional
knowledge
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
Modernizing Copyright Law BITTON Miriam Bar-Ilan University Israel
Toward a Theory of Polycentric PRIEST Eric University of Oregon School USA
Governance in Copyright Law of Law
Towards A Pluralist Approach for TESHAGER Dalhousie University Canada
the Protection of Traditional Dagne
Knowledge in International
Intellectual Property Law and
Policy: Imperatives for
Protection and the Choice of
Modalities
Legal Effect on Classification KHADEMI World Trade Innstitute Switzerland
Knowledge Hojjat
Session 17: Governing urban commons in the digital area
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
Urban-net: A case study of an MUGAR Gabriel Syracuse University USA
evolving new commons
(Co-authors
VENKATESH
Murali, USA,
HESS Charlotte,
USA)
Challenge of new commons – POKLEMBOVA Institute for Forecasting, Slovak
urban public spaces Veronika Slovak Academy of Sciences Republic
(co-authors
KLUVANKOVA-
ORAVSKA Tatiana,
FINKA Maros,
Slovak Republic)

16. TRACK 6+ : ”Global Climate change research”
This focal area of the conference will address climate change governance and its relationship to
knowledge commons. In particular, it will focus on the contribution of commons based solutions to
the sharing and diffusion of reliable scientific knowledge and innovations, and of sustainable use of
genetic resources and traditional knowledge, which can contribute to address problems of
adaptation to and mitigation of climate change.
Session 18: Diffusion and access to reliable scientific knowledge and innovations in global
Climate Change
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
Towards a Knowledge Commons DEN BESTEN Groupe Sup de Co France
for Integrated Assessment Matthijs Montpellier Business School
Models of Climate Change
The Green Economy and the STAM Erik Utrecht University Netherlands
Return of the Commons
Climate change discourses and MERINO Universidad Nacional Mexico
policies. Whose priorities, which Leticia Autónoma de México
knowledge?
Collective Action for the GUTERREZ Universidad Nacional Mexico
Production of Knowledge on the Norma Autónoma de México
Commons
Session 19: Intellectual property and technology transfer for climate change research
Title Author Institution/Affiliation Country
A new opportunity for delivering BROWN Abbe University of Edinburgh UK
the commons: exploring the
interface between different legal
fields
Patent Pools for Clean Energy ZHUANG Wei Max Planck Institute for IP Germany
Technologies and Competition Law(list
participants)
Université de Genève Switzerland
The Renewable Energy Commons MEYER University of Georgia School USA
Timothy of Law
The Talent Pool: Human Capital, LOBEL Orly University of San Diego USA
Knowledge Creation, and the

17. Reach of Intellectual Property (co-author
AMIR On,
USA)