Not too many posts recently from either Michele (well never from him) or me. We've been giving talks in Australia. We talked about IP at the Macrodynamic Conference at the Australia National University in Canberra. I think we raised some questions in the minds of the audience.

I gave a general audience talk on IP at the Treasury. Australia is famously sympathetic to monopolies. Much anti-trust that would be in the Justice Department in the U.S. is in Treasury in Australia. It was quite a pleasure to meet people who not only meant well, but have their heads screwed on straight. There is always a temptation (and perhaps a paper to be written?) for a government to respond to changes in economic circumstances by "doing something" - generally something stupid. It is fortunate for Australia that they have some public servants who understand that generally the best approach is for government to stay out of the way.

I talked also at Melbourne Business School. I wish I could say that my anti-IP talk was the highlight of the day, but I was paired with Eric Von Hippel of MIT whose talk on user driven innovation was the highlight of the day. The short version: most innovation isn't done by business firms at all, it is done by consumers who improve/invent products for their own use. When it turns out the invention is generally useful, often the firms imitate them. His website is highly recommended.

Finally, I'd be remiss not to draw attention to Josh Gans and his excellent website Core Economics. Aside from some comments on IP and Michele's and my work, there is a great deal of excellent stuff. His post on ownership of the last mile should be read by everyone interested in the internet.