I'm speaking at the Open Source City micro-festival, part of the European Capital of Culture programme. If you're in the area then there will be some good talks, workshops and performances. From the blurb - "Open Source City tips its hat to Liverpool’s pioneering spirit by offering a programme of art, workshops, masterclasses, talks and concerts that shed light on the growing impact of Free/Libre Open Source Software on the creative practices of today, in particular in media art and music."

I'll be talking about a few philosophical perspectives on intellectual property, using Kant, Locke and Marx as my starting points. Should we follow Richard Stallman in thinking that there is a categorical imperative to share freely? Perhaps the nonrivalrous nature of information means there is a good case to leave it in common rather than seeking private ownership? Or should we be more concerned with the act of creation, the way in which people labour on ideas and information, and encourage spaces in which we can engage in unalienated labour?

To keep it grounded I'm going to use examples from communities I've been part of, namely KDE, Remix Reading and OpenStreetMap.