The Economics of Copyright and the Internet: Moving to an Empirical Assessment Relevant in the Digital Era

Abstract

Technology and the Internet have triggered important changes to how creative works are created and accessed, and how creators and copyright-based industries generate their revenues. The author reassess the economics of copyright in the light of these changes. After providing an introduction to the economics of copyright, he analyzes the changes to the baseline copyright model triggered by the new technological landscape. Then, the article assess the empirical economic work on copyright so far, and suggest future avenues of research and related data needs.