Digital Rights Management and Technological Tying

43 Pages Posted: 19 Oct 2008

Date Written: September 27, 2008

Abstract

This paper analyzes DRM-based technological tying, where the content and hardware form a system. A closed DRM system makes the legal content incompatible with a rival's hardware, whose users must then obtain illegal copies. The main finding is that the tying firm gains market power in a competitive hardware market and invests in product upgrades at a later stage. Welfare implications of the policy that requires an open DRM system are also discussed.

Keywords: digital rights management, copying, tying

Suggested Citation

Kim, Jin-Hyuk, Digital Rights Management and Technological Tying (September 27, 2008). NET Institute Working Paper No. 08-05, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1285721 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1285721

Jin-Hyuk Kim (Contact Author)

University of Cambridge ( email )

Pembroke College
Cambridge, CB2 1RF
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/teach/kim/index.htm

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
92
Abstract Views
1,036
Rank
506,276
PlumX Metrics