Intellectual Property Norms in Online Communities: How User-Organized Intellectual Property Regulation Supports Innovation

Author List: Bauer, Julia; Franke, Nikolaus; Tuertscher, Philipp;
Information Systems Research, 2016, Volume 27, Issue 4, Page 724-750.
In many online communities, users reveal innovative and potentially valuable intellectual property (IP) under conditions that entail the risk of theft and imitation. When there is rivalry and formal IP law is not effective, this could lead to underinvestment or withholding of IP, unless user-organized norms compensate for these shortcomings. This study is the first to explore the characteristics and functioning of such a norms-based IP system in the setting of anonymous, large-scale, and loose-knit online communities. To do so, we use data on the Threadless crowdsourcing community obtained through netnography, a survey, and a field experiment. On this basis, we identify an integrated system of well-established norms that regulate the use of IP within this community. We analyze the system's characteristics and functioning, and we find that the Òlegal certaintyÓ it provides is conducive to cooperation, cumulative effects, and innovation. We generalize our findings from the case by developing propositions aimed to spark further research. These propositions focus on similarities and differences between norms-based IP systems in online and off-line settings, and the conditions that determine the existence of norms-based IP systems as well as their form and effectiveness in online communities. In this way, we contribute to the literatures on norms-based IP systems and online communities and offer advice for the management of crowdsourcing communities.
Keywords: intellectual property systems; social norms; innovation; online communities; crowdsourcing
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#45 0.211 community communities online members participants wikipedia social member knowledge content discussion collaboration attachment communication law virtual membership structures forms activities
#4 0.098 characteristics experience systems study prior effective complexity deal reveals influenced companies type analyze having basis conducted determine complex comparative drive
#201 0.095 piracy goods digital property intellectual rights protection presence legal consumption music consumers enforcement publisher pirate producers policies copyright provision profits
#145 0.094 differences analysis different similar study findings based significant highly groups popular samples comparison similarities non-is variety reveals imitation versus suggests
#259 0.088 identity norms identification symbolic community help sense european social important verification set identities form obtained properties deterioration mixed match emphasis
#82 0.079 case study studies paper use research analysis interpretive identify qualitative approach understanding critical development managerial elements exploring points positivist presents
#210 0.072 innovation innovations innovative organizing technological vision disruptive crowdsourcing path implemented explain base opportunities study diversity taking actors practice shape creation
#51 0.054 results study research experiment experiments influence implications conducted laboratory field different indicate impact effectiveness future participants evidence test controlled involving