Intially the issue already seems decided. It would seem that open source is definitely the way to go in all cases.
However, I can tell you that there is a prevailing new trend in grants for research. That is, organizations providing grants want to create jobs to improve the economy. Often times, the organizations want to generate jobs in a particular region or city. Look at any grant application. When applying, you often have to justify the potential for commercialization to get the grant.
Maintaining control of IP allows a university to license the technology and create jobs in new industries (often through university sponsored incubators).
I feel that there should be a balance between open and closed source in universities.
--
Jeff
Slashdot Mirror
Intially the issue already seems decided. It would seem that open source is definitely the way to go in all cases. However, I can tell you that there is a prevailing new trend in grants for research. That is, organizations providing grants want to create jobs to improve the economy. Often times, the organizations want to generate jobs in a particular region or city. Look at any grant application. When applying, you often have to justify the potential for commercialization to get the grant. Maintaining control of IP allows a university to license the technology and create jobs in new industries (often through university sponsored incubators). I feel that there should be a balance between open and closed source in universities. -- Jeff