Oliar (2017)

From Copyright EVIDENCE

Advertising Architectural Publishing of books, periodicals and other publishing Programming and broadcasting Computer programming Computer consultancy Creative, arts and entertainment Cultural education Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities

Film and motion pictures Sound recording and music publishing Photographic activities PR and communication Software publishing Video game publishing Specialised design Television programmes Translation and interpretation

1. Relationship between protection (subject matter/term/scope) and supply/economic development/growth/welfare 2. Relationship between creative process and protection - what motivates creators (e.g. attribution; control; remuneration; time allocation)? 3. Harmony of interest assumption between authors and publishers (creators and producers/investors) 4. Effects of protection on industry structure (e.g. oligopolies; competition; economics of superstars; business models; technology adoption) 5. Understanding consumption/use (e.g. determinants of unlawful behaviour; user-generated content; social media)

A. Nature and Scope of exclusive rights (hyperlinking/browsing; reproduction right) B. Exceptions (distinguish innovation and public policy purposes; open-ended/closed list; commercial/non-commercial distinction) C. Mass digitisation/orphan works (non-use; extended collective licensing) D. Licensing and Business models (collecting societies; meta data; exchanges/hubs; windowing; crossborder availability) E. Fair remuneration (levies; copyright contracts) F. Enforcement (quantifying infringement; criminal sanctions; intermediary liability; graduated response; litigation and court data; commercial/non-commercial distinction; education and awareness)

Source Details

Oliar (2017)
Title: Empirical Studies of Copyright Registration
Author(s): Oliar, D.
Year: 2017
Citation: Oliar, D. Empirical Studies of Copyright Registration. Draft 3/2/2017. To be included in Research Handbook on the Economics of Intellectual Property Law (Vol. II – Analytical Methods) (Peter S. Menell & David L. Schwartz eds., Edward Elgar Publishing, forthcoming 2017)
Link(s): Open Access
Key Related Studies:
Discipline:
Linked by:
About the Data
Data Description: The study consists of a literature review of empirical evidence in relation to copyright registrations in the United States, comprising of seven journal articles.
Data Type: Secondary data
Secondary Data Sources:
Data Collection Methods:
Data Analysis Methods:
Industry(ies):
Country(ies):
Cross Country Study?: No
Comparative Study?: No
Literature review?: Yes
Government or policy study?: No
Time Period(s) of Collection:
  • 2003-2017
Funder(s):

Abstract

“Despite the blossoming of copyright law and authorship theories over the past decades, there has thus far been very little in terms of empirical research to either affirm or refute any. Fortunately, the Copyright Office is home to the largest and oldest running registry of copyright claims worldwide, whose contents give a sense of the rate and direction of the production of literature, music, theatre, dance, the fine arts, movies and other original and expressive works of authorship in the U.S. over time. In recent years, a small yet growing body of literature has started to look at registration records in order to inform copyright policy.

This essay provides a survey of the empirical literature on copyright registration to date. Chronologically, the literature has come to rely on better data over time. Initial studies used registration data that were noisy in significant ways; later studies composed their statistics by aggregating the contents of individual registration records scoured from the Copyright Office’s website; current studies rely on accurate data obtained directly from the Office. Registration data have been used to provide descriptive statistics about authors, the authorship process and the rate and direction of authorial creativity; to challenge accepted premises of copyright and authorship theories; to assess the prudence of particular copyright reforms and to assess the overall performance of the copyright system. The forthcoming public release of registration data is likely to contribute to their further scholarly analysis.”

Main Results of the Study

The study evidences three “stages” of empirical research in copyright registrations:• Early studies (2003 – 2009) – This stage is characterised by the use of noisy, and potentially unreliable, data on the number of registrations. The authors conclude the evidence obtained is still valuable, including: term extensions since the implementation of the Berne conventions have caused no significant increase in registrations, and; court cases perceived as strengthening protection increase copyright registration applications.• Second wave (2013 – 2014) – This stage is characterised by the use of computerised scripts utilised to count the number of registrations in a given year, and is generally perceived to be more reliable than the early studies detailed above. These studies take in more demographic factors of registration applicants, finding that age differs substantially across artistic fields (e.g. generally very young creators in music, whereas literary authors tend to be older), and that geographic clusters are evident in certain fields (e.g. film and music tend to be highly concentrated in specific areas, rather than uniformly distributed).• Third stage (2015 onwards) – This stage is characterised by the “gold standard” use of official Copyright Office data (obtained from the full Copyright Office Catalogue). These studies can give more longitudinal evidence of registration trends over time, having access to records from 1978-2012. Further demographic evidence is provided on factors such as race and gender, which reveal that authors are becoming more diverse over time.

Policy Implications as Stated By Author

The study has a descriptive purpose to provide reliable information as to the relationship between copyright and incentives to create, evidencing nearly twenty years of empirical evidence. Similarly there is a policy-informing purpose. In regards to terms of protection, there is evidence of substantial differences in authors’ ages across art forms, which may suggest that copyright duration should be reconsidered to optimise incentives (and create cohesiveness in the light of increasingly older authors). Furthermore, demographic data in relation to geographic clusters of creativity, or racial minorities, may be useful in informing where educational policies should be directed.



Coverage of Study

Coverage of Fundamental Issues
Issue Included within Study
Relationship between protection (subject matter/term/scope) and supply/economic development/growth/welfare
Relationship between creative process and protection - what motivates creators (e.g. attribution; control; remuneration; time allocation)?
Green-tick.png
Harmony of interest assumption between authors and publishers (creators and producers/investors)
Effects of protection on industry structure (e.g. oligopolies; competition; economics of superstars; business models; technology adoption)
Understanding consumption/use (e.g. determinants of unlawful behaviour; user-generated content; social media)
Coverage of Evidence Based Policies
Issue Included within Study
Nature and Scope of exclusive rights (hyperlinking/browsing; reproduction right)
Green-tick.png
Exceptions (distinguish innovation and public policy purposes; open-ended/closed list; commercial/non-commercial distinction)
Mass digitisation/orphan works (non-use; extended collective licensing)
Licensing and Business models (collecting societies; meta data; exchanges/hubs; windowing; crossborder availability)
Fair remuneration (levies; copyright contracts)
Enforcement (quantifying infringement; criminal sanctions; intermediary liability; graduated response; litigation and court data; commercial/non-commercial distinction; education and awareness)

Datasets

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