Copyright's Race, Gender and Age: A First Quantitative Look at Registrations

39 Pages Posted: 31 Aug 2016 Last revised: 1 Oct 2016

See all articles by Robert Brauneis

Robert Brauneis

George Washington University - Law School

Dotan Oliar

University of Virginia School of Law

Date Written: August 29, 2016

Abstract

On a per capita basis, do African-American authors produce more copyright registrations than non-Hispanic whites? Do men and women show a within-group bias in choosing co-authors? And what decade in the average musician’s life is the most productive? This article provides answers to these questions – which happen to be yes, yes, and the 20s, respectively – and many more by statistically analyzing the 15 million entries that comprise the Copyright Office’s full record of registered works from 1978 through 2012. It provides a variety of perspectives on individuals’ creativity in modern-day America and on the beneficiaries of our copyright system along the axes of race, gender and age. Its findings suggest a need to promote greater diversity and equality in the processes of cultural production and the making of social meaning.

Keywords: copyright, race, gender, age, empirical

JEL Classification: K10

Suggested Citation

Brauneis, Robert and Oliar, Dotan, Copyright's Race, Gender and Age: A First Quantitative Look at Registrations (August 29, 2016). GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 2016-48, GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2016-48, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2831850 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2831850

Robert Brauneis (Contact Author)

George Washington University - Law School ( email )

2000 H Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20052
United States

Dotan Oliar

University of Virginia School of Law ( email )

580 Massie Road
Charlottesville, VA 22903
United States
434-924-3219 (Phone)

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