The Economics of Collective Copyright Management

Abstract

This chapter introduces the basic economics of collective administration of copyrights, summarizes the economic literature to date and puts various contributions into perspective. Markets for copyrights are changing with the diffusion of digital information and communication technology. It is contentious how the system of collective administration should adapt. The organization of collective administration in national monopolies (or very rarely duopolies) has also come under more intensive scrutiny lately. There seems ample scope to apply economic theory to inform these debates.

Keywords: economics of copyright, collecting societies, copyright collectives, copyright management organizations, collective rights management

JEL Classification: D23, D40, D71, K20, L51, L82, O34