Branscomb, Anne W. 1994. "The Economics of Information Public and Private Domains of Information: Defining the Legal Boundaries." (Working Paper)

Abstract

"Information has always been a valuable asset to those who possess it. Where the fish were biting was an important piece of information to tribal societies. They shared this information because it was in the interests of the community to do so, and the catch was shared by all members of the tribe. Today where the fish are biting is a carefully guarded secret by fishermen who store the longitude and latitude in the memories of their Loran equipment on their fishing boats. Their boats are also equipped with satellite antenna in order to obtain access to the remote sensing satellite data that discloses where the schools of fish are concentrating and what prices are offered for their catch on the global markets."