Meet the New Media, Same as the Old Media: Real Lessons from China's Digital Copyright Industries

Abstract

Some commentators argue that China, with its piracy-beleaguered content industries, is ideally positioned to leapfrog the West in “post-scarcity, post-copyright” business models. This short essay puts those claims to the test by examining a decade of developments in China’s video/film, music, and book publishing industries. Those developments suggest Chinese content producers and even online intermediaries increasingly embrace monetization models based on copyright and exclusion.

Keywords: Copyright Law, Copyright, Piracy, Chinese Copyright Law, China, Chinese Film Industry, Chinese Music Industry, Chinese Publishing Industry, Scarcity, Chinese Content Industries, Chinese Creative Industries, Chinese Intellectual Property, Intellectual Property, Chinese IP, IP