Virginia Postrel is discussing Eric Von Hippel's new book, Democratizing Innovation, which explores "user-centered innovation." Reading the introduction to Von Hippel's book reminded me of Zorina Khan's forthcoming book The Democratization of Invention: Patents and Copyrights in American Economic Development, 1790-1920. Professor Khan offers a straightforward thesis: the patent system in the United States allowed for the "securitization of ideas" through the creation of intellectual property rights and aided the democratization of invention because it enhanced the opportunities of nonelite inventors.

Despite the similarity in their titles, these two books are discussing different phenomena. While Zorina is interested in historical patenting patterns, Von Hippel seems to be talking about customization more than invention. This is not manufacturer-driven customization, but user innovation. As observed by Virginia:

To get people exactly what they want, user innovation suggests an alternative to mass customization, the manufacturing process that seeks to tailor products to specific users while maintaining the economies of large-scale production. Mass customization generally entails mixing and matching pre-specified components, which significantly limits its flexibility.

User innovation targets a market of one, and Von Hippel argues that such innovation is increasingly common. Moreover, the so-called "lead users" often disclose their innovations freely, thus creating a public good. Why do they reveal their innovation? According to Von Hippel:

because free revealing can provide innovators with significant private benefits as well as losses or risks of loss. Users who freely reveal what they have done often find that others then improve or suggest improvements to the innovation, to mutual benefit. Freely revealing users also may benefit from enhancement of reputation, from positive network effects due to increased diffusion of their innovation, and from other factors. Being the first to freely reveal a particular innovation can also enhance the benefits received, and so there can actually be a rush to reveal, much as scientists rush to publish in order to gain the benefits associated with being the first to have made a particular advancement.

This looks like a fascinating book, and you can download the Creative Commons version here.

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