Cadastre?

The Knowledge Nation report has exposed many Australians to the word "cadastre", which, as described by the report, is "an inventory of knowledge resources".

Australia needs a cadastre, it is argued, because while already being an information society in many ways, it is too disconnected and inefficient. A cadastre would allow policy makers to harness these resources through "action and policy formulation".

While this is just dandy, the literal meaning of cadastre, as printed in The Macquarie Dictionary, is "an official register of property, with details of boundaries, ownership, etc".

According to this definition, a cadastre of knowledge resources would be an official register of knowledge and who owns it. Thanks to the rise of corporate globalisation, intellectual property is a rapidly growing field in international law, such a register would only serve those able to purchase the knowledge.

From GLW issue 459