Open Content - Open Access
The content industry is in the midst of a radical change process. Business models that have been established for years, decades or even centuries no longer apply in the modern era of digital literacy. As media become increasingly digitised, it is now possible to make copies that are indistinguishable from the original. Depending on the user's perspective, this trend is either welcomed or condemned. Whatever our personal opinions, however, there is unanimous agreement that content producers today are faced with new challenges when it comes to handling intellectual property – in other words, immaterial goods such as music, software, pictures, films or texts.
The main argument in favour of traditional content generation and use mechanisms is that the creator – for instance, an author or a company – who in many cases has invested considerable time and resources in the content generation process deserves to be appropriately remunerated. At the same time, the turn of the new millennium also marked the beginning of a new movement, which advocates that contents should basically be released and made accessible to anyone free of charge. "Open content" is an attempt to formulate alternative rules for content usage that are in keeping with the times and above all founded on socio-political aspects rather than the market view. Open content currently exists alongside works whose use and distribution are restricted by copyright laws to protect intellectual property. These two concepts – the protection of contents versus open access – are evidently difficult to reconcile.
The "Open Content – Open Access" report in the FAZIT publication series provides a detailed description of the status quo regarding open content and its potential for further development, and explains how the open content principle can be applied to the field of scientific publishing (open access). It particularly focuses on the situation in Baden-Württemberg, which boasts an important publishing industry. The analysis is based on an in-depth desk research project to determine the present standing of open content as well as future trends. Extensive data, third-party studies, company information and press releases were evaluated for this purpose. The research report also discusses legal issues, presents the challenges arising as a result of open content and summarises current market structures together with possible business models. The specific strategies adopted in the higher education sector to deal with open access are illustrated in a case study of Konstanz University library.
The full results of the market potential analysis can be found in Volume 16 of the FAZIT publication series: "Open Content – Open Access. Open content as a challenge for business, research and politics" (FAZIT-Schriftenreihe, in German).
