The Circulations of Culture - On Social Distribution of Content

Abstract

This report is a translation of a report published originally in Polish in January 2012, as a result of a survey study conducted in 2011. The publication took place at the height of the debate on ACTA and became an important element in public debates on copyright and regulation of online circulations of content.

After the introduction, parts two and three constitute the theoretical part of the report, in which we present a framework for understanding formal and informal circulations of content. Parts four to seven contain results of our empirical studies. They contain additionally comments on the report by three Polish scholars studying the interplay of culture, society and digital technologies.

At the end of the report we include three comments from foreign scholars and thinkers that have not been published in the original report.

Keywords: informal economy, circulation, file sharing, copying, cultural practices, copyright, piracy, intellectual property