Smith and Telang (2012)

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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

Smith and Telang (2012)
Title: Assessing the Academic Literature Regarding the Impact of Media Piracy on Sales
Author(s): Michael D. Smith, Rahul Telang
Year: 2012
Citation: Smith, M.D. and Telang, R., 2012. Assessing the academic literature regarding the impact of media piracy on sales. Available at SSRN 2132153.
Link(s): Definitive , Open Access
Key Related Studies:
Discipline:
Linked by: Peukert, Claussen and Kretschmer (2015), Poort and Weda (2015), Poort et al. (2014)
About the Data
Data Description: This study is a literature review and has no original data.
Data Type:
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:
  • 1991-2012
Funder(s):
  • Motion Picture Association of America

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to provide a “non‐technical” discussion of what the academic literatures in economics, marketing, and information systems can tell us about how piracy impacts sales of media products. Within these literatures, we have chosen to focus on empirical studies of the impact of piracy because, while there are a variety of analytic models proposing theories of how piracy might impact sales, we believe that the true test of these theories starts with data.

Based on our review of the empirical literature we conclude that, while some papers in the literature find no evidence of harm, the vast majority of the literature (particularly the literature published in top peer reviewed journals) finds evidence that piracy harms media sales.

Main Results of the Study

To summarize, while the academic literature is not uniform in finding harm, taken as a whole we see a very consistent story across the academic literature: With one exception, all of the papers we are aware of which have been published in major peer-reviewed academic journals find evidence of statistically significant harm to sales of recently released content as a result of illegal file sharing. These papers span a variety of methods, time periods, and contexts. Moreover, while the one dissenting paper should be lauded for innovative methods of data collection, and for being among the very first papers published addressing this question, there have been significant questions raised about the appropriateness of its instrumental variable, and as such we believe it is appropriate to weigh its finding that piracy does not harm sales relative to the large number of papers with opposite findings.

Policy Implications as Stated By Author

Based on our review of the empirical literature we conclude that, while some papers in the literature find no evidence of harm, the vast majority of the literature (particularly the literature published in top peer reviewed journals) finds evidence that piracy harms media sales.

Coverage of Study

Coverage of Fundamental Issues
Issue Included within Study
Relationship between protection (subject matter/term/scope) and supply/economic development/growth/welfare
Green-tick.png
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)
Green-tick.png
Coverage of Evidence Based Policies
Issue Included within Study
Nature and Scope of exclusive rights (hyperlinking/browsing; reproduction right)
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)
Green-tick.png
Fair remuneration (levies; copyright contracts)
Green-tick.png
Enforcement (quantifying infringement; criminal sanctions; intermediary liability; graduated response; litigation and court data; commercial/non-commercial distinction; education and awareness)
Green-tick.png

Datasets