E-science promises to allow globally-distributed
collaboration and access to scientific research
via computer networks, but e-science development
is already encountering difficulty over the
intellectual property rights associated with
data and networked collaborative activity. The
proprietary nature of intellectual property is
generally problematic in the practice of
science, but such difficulties are likely to be
exacerbated in the context of e-science
collaboration where the development and use of
intellectual resources will likely be
distributed among many researchers in a variety
of physical locations, often spanning national
boundaries. While a potential solution to such
problems may reside in the mechanism of "open
source" licenses, the organizational structure
of scientific research may not map cleanly onto
the open source model. Consequently, a firm
understanding of not only the technical
structure but of the social and communicative
structure of e-science will be necessary in
order to adapt licensing solutions to the
practice of e-science. 2007
