Svensson and Larsson (2009)
Contents
Source Details
| Svensson and Larsson (2009) | |
| Title: | Social Norms and Intellectual Property |
| Author(s): | Svensson, M., Larsson, S. |
| Year: | 2009 |
| Citation: | Svensson, M., & Larsson, S. (2009). Social Norms and Intellectual Property. Online norms and the European legal development. |
| Link(s): | Open Access |
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| Discipline: | |
| Linked by: | Filiciak, Hofmokl and Tarkowski (2012), Svensson and Larsson (2012) |
| About the Data | |
| Data Description: | The survey which is the basis for the respondent study was e-mailed to 1,400 recipients during January-February and by the time the survey was ended, the respondents numbered 1,047, which gives a response frequency of 74.8 percent.
The respondents constitute a nationally representative sample with regards to gender and regional belongings (metropolitan, rural), within the age group 15-25 years. The reason the respondent group was limited to the age group was because the study is mainly interested in participants who have grown up with the internet and it’s uses as a natural component of their daily reality. The questions relate to factors influence downloading and file-sharing of copyright material in the film and music industries. |
| Data Type: | Primary data |
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| Cross Country Study?: | No |
| Comparative Study?: | No |
| Literature review?: | |
| Government or policy study?: | |
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Abstract
This report is the result of study that was performed in January and February 2009. It was presented and reviewed at the Annual Meeting of the Law and Society Association: Law, Power, and Inequality in the 21st Century in May 2009. The study empirically examined, or rather examined the lack of, social norms opposing illegal file sharing. A total of over 1,000 respondents have answered the questionnaire. Along with the social norm indicators, the study maps out relevant questions regarding internet behaviour in this field, such as the will to use anonymity services and the will to pay for copyrighted content. These results are compared and contrasted with the legal development trend in European law in internet and file sharing related matters, as well as the Swedish implementation of this development, as a member of the European Union. This includes the Intellectual Property Enforcement Directive (IPRED), the Directive on Data retention as well as the implementation of INFOSOC. Svensson and Larsson in Social Norms and Intellectual Property – Online norms and the European legal development consequently portrays the social norms on the one hand and the legal development on the other, and the overarching question of the report therefore addresses the correlation of these two. Do the social norms amongst 15-25 year olds match the legal regulation, as well as the regulatory trend on this field? If not, how can this be understood or explained? The study shows that the cybernorms differ, both in inherent structures and origin, from current legal constructions.
Main Results of the Study
There are three main findings in this study:
- Firstly, the results indicate no social norms that hinder illegal file sharing. The surrounding imposes no moral or normative obstruction for the respondents file sharing of copyrighted content.
- Secondly, the legal trend does not correlate to this social norm in any way. On the contrary, there is a striking discrepancy between the social norms on illegal file sharing of copyrighted content and the legal regulation.
- Thirdly, there are strong indications that neither the law in itself nor new legal attempts at enforcing copyright will change the social norm on illegal file sharing.
Policy Implications as Stated By Author
"This study of 15-25 year olds shows that 75 percent do not consider the fact that file sharing of copyright protected material is illegal, as a reason strong enough to abstain. Almost as many state that more stringent legislation will not stop them from downloading."
"If one chooses to ignore the gap that has arisen between the general legal consciousness and the judicial norms, one risks more than just sabotaging the chance to create a functioning market - additionally, there is an evident risk of hollowing out younger generations respect for the rule of law."
Coverage of Study
Datasets
| Sample size: | 1074 |
| Level of aggregation: | Individual |
| Period of material under study: | 2009 |
