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Yochai Benkler

Jack N. and Lillian R. Berkman Professor for Entrepreneurial Legal Studies

Faculty Co-Director, Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society

Yochai Benkler
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Yochai Benkler is the Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School, and faculty co-director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. Since the 1990s he has played a role in characterizing the role of information commons and decentralized collaboration to innovation, information production, and freedom in the networked economy and society. His books include The Wealth of Networks: How social production transforms markets and freedom (Yale University Press 2006), which won academic awards from the American Political Science Association, the American Sociological Association, and the McGannon award for social and ethical relevance in communications. In 2012 he received a lifetime achievement award from Oxford University in recognition of his contribution to the study and public understanding of the Internet and information goods. His work is socially engaged, winning him the Ford Foundation Visionaries Award in 2011, the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Pioneer Award for 2007, and the Public Knowledge IP3 Award in 2006. It is also anchored in the realities of markets, cited as “perhaps the best work yet about the fast moving, enthusiast-driven Internet” by the Financial Times and named best business book about the future in 2006 by Strategy and Business. Benkler has advised governments and international organizations on innovation policy and telecommunications, and serves on the boards or advisory boards of several nonprofits engaged in working towards an open society. His work can be freely accessed at http://www.benkler.org.

Board Memberships

  • Board Member, Open Society Foundations, US Programs (2011 - Present)
    New York, United States
  • Board Member, Freedombox Foundation (2011 - Present)
    New York, United States

Honors and Awards

  • Lifetime Achievement Award, Oxford Internet Institute (Awards)
    Contribution to the study of the Internet and Information Goods, November 2012
  • Ford Foundation Visionaries (Awards)
    2011
  • Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award (Awards)
    2007
  • Public Knowledge IP3 Awards (Awards)
    2006
  • American Political Science Association, Don K. Price Award (Book Awards)
    Best book on science, technology, and politics, 2007
  • American Sociological Association. CITASA Award (Book Awards)
    best book related to sociology of communications, 2008
  • Donald McGannon Award (Book Awards)
    best book on social and ethical relevance in communications policy research, 2006
  • American Political Science Association. Best Published Article on Information Tech & Politics (Publications)
    2012

Representative Publications

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Recent Publications

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