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"General outline of the book" [2005] ELECD 86; in Takeyama, N. Lisa; Gordon, J. Wendy; Towse, Ruth (eds), "Developments in the Economics of Copyright" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2005)

Book Title: Developments in the Economics of Copyright

Editor(s): Takeyama, N. Lisa; Gordon, J. Wendy; Towse, Ruth

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781843769309

Section Title: General outline of the book

Number of pages: 5

Extract:

General outline of the book
The book begins with a chapter by Pamela Samuelson, a legal scholar
famous for her pioneering work on the copyright issues raised by new infor-
mation technologies. In Chapter 1, she addresses what may be perhaps the
most fundamental question regarding economics and copyright: just what
role does economics have in copyright law and policy? Samuelson suggests
that economics has not thus far been as influential in intellectual property
law and policymaking as it has been in other areas of economic regulation,
such as antitrust. She offers several possible explanations for this, includ-
ing for example, lack of economic expertise on the part of the relevant pol-
icymakers, and `the tight nexus between the copyright industry and the
policymaking community'. Samuelson explains how economics does have
an important and useful role to play in copyright law and policy ­ touch-
ing also on ways economics can be misused ­ and offers several examples
and case studies.
The chapter by Samuelson, in addressing some of the institutional and
methodological difficulties that contribute to a law/economics divide,
serves to introduce the book as a whole. The primary focus of the book's
succeeding sections is the application of economic tools and analysis to
examine particular issues within copyright. They begin with considering
the economics of copyright collectives.
In Chapter 2, Arthur Snow and Richard Watt offer a novel view of the
benefits of copyright collectives in their capacity to pool the risks of their
members. While it is ...