Economics of Copyright Collecting Societies and Digital Rights: Is There a Case for a Centralised Digital Copyright Exchange?

28 Pages Posted: 13 Feb 2013

See all articles by Ruth Towse

Ruth Towse

Bournemouth University - Business School

Date Written: December 12, 2012

Abstract

Copyright collecting societies have attracted economists’ attention for over 30 years and the attention of government regulators for even longer. They have typically been accepted by economists and by courts of law as necessary for reducing transaction costs and enabling copyright to work. The advent of digitization has led to renewed interest in the topic and to the view that though new technologies offer the possibility of improved rights management, collecting societies are not responding sufficiently to these opportunities. That view was evident in recent enquiries into the role of copyright in the digital age in the UK, which proposed the formation of a Digital Copyright Exchange (DCE) that would promote online digital trade. This paper evaluates the case for the DCE in the light of what economists know about collective rights management.

Suggested Citation

Towse, Ruth, Economics of Copyright Collecting Societies and Digital Rights: Is There a Case for a Centralised Digital Copyright Exchange? (December 12, 2012). Review of Economic Research on Copyright Issues, 2012, 9(2), 3-30, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2216165

Ruth Towse (Contact Author)

Bournemouth University - Business School ( email )

Executive Business Centre, 89 Holdenhurst Road,
Bournemouth, BH8 8EB
United Kingdom

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