Open Source Sustainability
If youare computer savvy, you have probably already heard of open source software. Open source refers to software that has the code freely available so that anyone (and I do mean anyone) can view, change and distribute the software as they please—freely. It was a hugely successful experiment that has benefited people for over three decades now. Heck, I am writing this essay on an open source word processor that thousands of people have worked on, and I was able to download for free.
I’m not a software engineer though, so while I make use of free open source programs, I can’t really contribute much to them. My talents lie in other places as I am sure many of you can relate. In the absence of programming ability, how could one make use of open source? There are various different terms—like open collaboration, open innovation, and open design—that refer to other things which are similar outside the realm of software, and it is those things I will touch on in this essay.
In 1876, there were no less than three inventors who vied for the honor of being the one to receive a patent for a working telephone: Elisha Grey, Antonio Meucci, and of course, Alexander Graham Bell. These three people each individually worked on the invention, although each inventor had a team of their own. Bell eventually won out, and filed for the patent only a few days before Gray, even then the lawyers of the two men argued bitterly over who should receive the ever coveted paper.
One might ask why it is so important to have a patent, and you would be right to ask that. After all, why should we allow progress to be stifled by a piece of paper that says who is allowed to sell what. Today, billions of dollars and thousands of hours a year are wasted by lawyers on greedy inventors who make the smallest tweaks so that they can be the only one to profit from their special gizmos. This institution does no favors for anyone except the profiteer themself. If truly life saving and/or altering inventions come about (like medications), millions of people are instantly denied access to them simply because the patents are kept under lock and key, protected by armies of lawyers—or even actual armies.
Various people have argued quite a bit about whether patents hurt innovation or not. Most people won't even attempt to innovate if there is already a patent for something similar, because they know they will never profit from it. All of this has an easy solution though: don’t plan on selling your invention. If what you create or improve upon never goes to market, it is unlikely that lawyers will knock down your door with cease and desist orders.
This is one of the most appealing things about open source philosophy, it’s free for all. Now of course there are always costs, even free software will cost you the bandwidth needed to download it. Any open source technology will have costs associated for materials, time, and effort, but if we all put our heads together we will be able to minimize costs. That is the heart of open source.
In Vinay Gupta’s creatively titled essay ‘Starting an anti-patent-abuse appropriate technology political bloc?’, he outlines three principals to stop patent abuse and promote progress:
I will not permit any human being to be deprived of life-giving technology by the profit motive.
Any works that I patent I will make available to others who are engaged in humanitarian activity for free, except where this would breach other contractual responsibilities.
I will not use patent law to slow the pace of innovation or service delivery to the needy under any circumstances.
Many people are looking to capitalize on sustainability and therefore lose sight of the goal, because sustainability isn't just about our relationship with nature, but also about our relationships with each other.
As Buckminster Fuller wrote in the Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth:
Take the initiative. Go to work, and above all co-operate and don't hold back on one another or try to gain at the expense of another. Any success in such lopsidedness will be increasingly short-lived.
If we want the world, our society, and our quality of life to be sustainable, we have to be willing to share our knowledge and innovation with each other. If you have a great idea that has the ability to enrich the lives of your fellow man, share it openly.