IPcentral Weblog: January 2007 Archives

January 2007 Archives

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01.31.2007

The Case of the Captured Koala

Wikipedia Brown and The Case of the Captured Koala

posted by Solveig Singleton @ 11:09 AM | Free Culture Movement

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IIPA Report on Copyright's Contributions to the American Economy

The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) has released the 2006 Copyright Industries in the U.S. Economy report, which presents the copyright industries’ impact on the American economy through 2004, with estimates for 2005.

The IIPA report is an important effort that demonstrates the societal benefits of copyright policies. The primary implication of the study is that copyright-based goods and services are critical to continued U.S. economic growth. Even though copyright policy must be balanced with various societal values such as free access to information and personal use of licensed media, lets not hold these other values with such disproportionate concern as to downplay the importance of modern copyright policy.

The U.S. copyright industries have consistently out-performed the rest of the U.S. economy, in terms of their real annual growth rates and their contributions to the overall growth of the U.S. economy as a whole…

…consistent positive trends in value added, employment levels, and foreign sales and exports solidify the status of the copyright industries as a key industry that leads in the stimulation of U.S. economic growth.

As new technologies support the development of new distribution methods for legitimate copyrighted products, the U.S. copyright-based industries…are optimistic that economic growth, combined with strong laws and effective enforcement, will continue to pave the way for economic growth in both the U.S. and global markets.

The copyright industries, often in the middle of fierce policy debates, should be seen for their role in the nation’s economy.

Continue reading IIPA Report on Copyright's Contributions to the American Economy . . .

posted by Noel Le @ 7:00 AM | DMCA , DRM & Watermarks, etc. , Markets: Business, Investment & Innovation

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01.30.2007

We Could Not Say It Better . . . (Part II):

A pseudonymous commenter on RoughType:

Yes, and I wonder to what extent this move [YouTube's decision to pay content providers] might help shore up the pro-IP argument out on the wild, woolly web. If even just subconsciously.
When the Digg masses see a raw demonstration of the process in action -- people, just like them, being rewarded for the value of their creations -- perhaps they will be forced to reevaluate their stance on file-sharing etc. Or to at least restructure their arguments: One bogeyman (the Rich Evil Entertainment Cartels) will have been rendered moot, and other standard assertions ("piracy doesn't hurt anybody") will have been made trickier.

Something has got to change the dismissive attitude among younger Internet users regarding IP and copyright. Maybe this is a start.

posted by James DeLong @ 12:43 PM | Internet: P2P, Search Engines...

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We Could Not Say It Better . . .

Bartlett Cleland (director of the Institute for Policy Innovation Center for Technology Freedom) in The Hill:

property rights: Congress must be skeptical of efforts to define property rights as antithetical to consumers’ interests. In fact, copyright contributes mightily to the incentive to create — knowing that one can profit from talents, intelligence or creativity. We cannot allow others to steal with impunity. Just the theft of movies costs our economy $20.5 billion a year, more than 141,000 jobs annually and $837 million in lost tax revenue a year. Imagine adding in all the copyrighted industries.

posted by James DeLong @ 11:48 AM | Legislation and Legislators

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Eating up Content

We hear a lot about how artists should accept new business models -- for example, in a digital age they shouldn't think about trying to monetize their work through "physical" means such as CDs or even virtual physical means such as downloads, they should instead, say, perform live. This has never helped me understand the future of compensation for artists: How does a songwriter who doesn't perform get paid? Should an author not publish a book but instead hit the lecture circuit? Should Hollywood stop making films and instead put on community theater productions? Should video game makers stop selling games such as Madden NFL, and instead host flag-football tournaments?

There's no question the live experience matters. And experiencing creativity first-hand is worth paying for. A few months ago I was in Savannah on a short vacation. Historic Savannah is really quite small; if you're there a few days you find yourself walking the same paths over and over. Every time I walked past The Lady and Sons Restaurant, owned and operated by celebrity southern chef Paula Deen, there was a long line. It didn't matter what time of day or night it was; people were willing to wait to experience her down-home cooking. What does this mean in terms of the current debate over intellectual property?

Continue reading Eating up Content . . .

posted by Patrick Ross @ 11:33 AM | Access: Commons, Fair Use, Orphan Works, Public Domain

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Conference Reminder

Tomorrow is the Internet Caucus's State of the Net conference.

posted by James DeLong @ 10:21 AM | Internet: P2P, Search Engines...

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01.29.2007

Merges/Wegner Dialogue

On PatentlyO, Harold Wegner continues his dialogue with Prof. Robert Merges. Now this is the Internet at its best -- real time discussion among two thoughtful experts plus assorted commenters on public policy issues of high importance.

A crucial point:

Continue reading Merges/Wegner Dialogue . . .

posted by James DeLong @ 12:25 PM | Patents

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First, Do No Consumer Harm

Alex van Gelder of the International Policy Network emails: "We need to circulate a global petition that prevents consumer groups from harming consumers."

The trigger: a Financial Times report:

Norway declares Apple’s iTunes illegal (January 24 2007 20:39) Apple was dealt a blow in Europe on Wednesday when Norway’s powerful consumer ombudsman ruled that its iTunes online music store was illegal because it did not allow downloaded songs to be played on rival technology companies’ devices. The decision is the first time any jurisdiction has concluded iTunes breaks its consumer protection laws and could prompt other European countries to review the situation.

posted by James DeLong @ 12:02 PM | DRM & Watermarks, etc. , International , Markets: Business, Investment & Innovation

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Bring on Pay-Per-View

The second season of Rome on HBO just had its third episode, and it remains a brilliant show, superb in wrting, acting, historical presence. Unfortunately, there will be no season three, because it draws only about 1.5 million viewers, and is very expensive to produce. These numbers do not add up to continuation.

On NBC, another good show, Friday Night Lights, is also in trouble, since a measly 6 million people tune in. It may not even survive the year.

But think about it -- 1.5 million/6 million -- that is a LOT of people. In each case, the problem is that the fans cannot register their appreciation by paying. Friday Night Lights requires eyeballs to attract advertisers, while Rome needs to build HBO's subscriber base a lot if it is to be worth the cost. Both are financed through these intermediate mechanisms, and sort of like most of the energy that goes into an engine is dissipated as heat, most of the consumer value of a show is lost in the frictions of these financing mechanisms.

If I and my fellow fans could pay, we could easily support these shows. I would pay $5/episode for Rome (and that is just my opening offer). Multiply it by a million, and you get a revenue stream of $5 million a week -- for that they can restage the chariot race from Ben Hur, every week.

The same goes for FNL -- charge a dollar a viewing set and you could easily finance the enterprise.

Now, I do not object if people want their TV free, and are willing to watch ads as the price. I will not interfere with their economic model. So they should not interfere with mine, and mine requires pay-per-view with DRM to exclude free riders. The market will evolve to provide both types of experience, as long as it is allowed to do so without destructive intervention.

posted by James DeLong @ 10:51 AM | DRM & Watermarks, etc. , Markets: Business, Investment & Innovation

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Debate on Patent Takings

Professor of Law and IPcentral Academic Advisor Adam Mossoff will debate Prof Shubha Gosh on February 2 at noon in Richmond, Virginia. The debate topic is: "Is Intellectual
Property 'Property'? Pharmaceutical Patents and Regulatory Takings." Part of a debate series billed as the "Evil Twins."