Two directions

Ian Hargreaves' report, publishe yesterday, comes from a standpoint that's familiar - that creative things only happen because creators get financial rewards. It's a world in which the threat of the RIAA - if you stop record labels making money, music will die - is a guiding principle.

However, The Next Web is reporting a start date for Peer-To-Patent UK, a new government scheme which aims to streamline patent law by inviting people around the planet to inspect applications:

You may be wondering what’s in it for these third party experts? Why would they want to feed into the patent examining process? Well, it’s for the same reason anyone in the global community would offer their time and knowledge – it’s for the greater good.

So it looks like the UK Government is now living firmly in a world where it believes nobody will do anything without a clear financial reward, unless it's the UK government who isn't paying any money.