Papers

  • Joined: March 4, 2014
  • Articles: 395

Publishers and Copyright

[Enrico Bonadio and Anele Simon] Abstract: ...After giving a historical perspective showing how book publishers have traditionally held the reins of powers in their relationship with authors, the chapter focuses on the tension between publishers’ rights, on the one hand, and the moral rights of authors and rights of users, on the other. It then delves into a short analysis of a related and a sui generis right offered to publishers, namely the right in typographical arrangement of published editions (protected in UK and Australia) and the EU publishers’ right aimed at controlling the use of online press and publications.

Avengers Assemble! When Digital Piracy Increases Box Office Demand

[Klaus Ackermann, Wendy A. Bradley, Jack Francis Cameron] Abstract: Using the film industry, we show how the content of information goods changes the substitutability or complementarity effects of copyright infringement. Leveraging the quasi-random timing of the appearance of a high-quality pirated movie after its release in-theaters, we find for “spectacle”-oriented films, where the value of the good is linked to in-theater viewing, piracy complements box-office sales. For “story”-oriented films, where the value of the good is inherent—unenhanced by in-theater viewing—piracy displaces sales. Our findings suggest the value of creative content is linked to its distribution context, with relevance for commercialization strategies of digital goods in creative industries.

Innovation and Social Welfare: A New Research Agenda

[Fulvio Castellacci] Abstract: Innovation research is motivated by the understanding that new technologies contribute to address societal challenges and foster welfare. Extant research in the economics of innovation has, however, adopted a narrow definition of social welfare, which focuses on economic performance and material well-being, and that mostly disregards distributional impacts of innovation. This paper critically reviews the concept of social welfare in the economics of innovation literature, and it outlines a new research agenda that will investigate the impacts of innovation on individuals’ well-being and aggregate social welfare.

Reforming Copyright or Toward Another Science? A More Human Rights-Oriented Approach Under the REBSPA in Constructing a “Right to Research” for Scholarly Publishing

[Klaus Beiter] Abstract: This article identifies copyright impediments existing in the sphere of science, to then make (tentative) suggestions as to how these may be overcome. It focuses on scholarly publishing only, and here primarily on digital content, specifically asking whether expensive commercial scholarly publishers continue to “add value” to research in the digital era. The deficits of copyright law and potential solutions thereto are assessed in the light of the right of everyone “to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications” (REBSPA) as laid down in Article 15(1)(b) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) of 1966. A substantial part of the discussion examines whether and, if so, in what ways, the REBSPA gives rise to a “right to research,” also in an extraterritorial sense that would require the right to be respected beyond borders, and what the normative implications of such a right would be for copyright and science.

From Patents to Secrets

[Michael Risch] Abstract: Beginning in 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the type of inventions that were patentable. In the aftermath of these limits, patent plaintiffs began to lose cases—especially software patent cases—in a way they had not before. Commentators predicted that, faced with waning patent protection, inventors would look to trade secrecy to protect their creations. This chapter is the first to empirically test this prediction.

Zooming in on Education: An Empirical Study on Digital Platforms and Copyright in the United Kingdom, Italy, and the Netherlands

[Bernd Justin Jütte, Guido Noto La Diega, Giulia Priora, Guido Salza] Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant change in the types of teaching infrastructure used in higher education. This article examines how the use of commercial digital platforms for educational purposes impacted on teaching practices. At the same time, it shines a light on the experiences and (legal) perceptions of educators as an essential category of stakeholders within the EU copyright legal framework. Against the background of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the study reflects on the process of ‘platformisation’ of education and delves into copyright-related aspects of the online teaching and learning environments.

Reconceptualizing Open Access to Theses and Dissertations

[Orit Fischman Afori and Dalit Ken-Dror Feldman] Abstract: The global COVID-19 crisis has turned public attention to the special need for accessing cutting-edge studies that are needed for further scientific innovation. Theses and dissertations (TD) are prominent examples of cutting-edge innovative studies. TD are academic research projects conducted by graduate students to acquire a high academic degree, such as a PhD. They encompass not only knowledge about basic science but also knowledge that generates social and economic value for society. Therefore, access to TD is imperative for promoting science and innovation.

End-User Flexibilities in Digital Copyright Law – An Empirical Analysis of End-User License Agreements

[Péter Mezei and István Harkai] Abstract: In the platform age, copyright protected contents are primarily disseminated over the internet. This model poses various challenges to the copyright regime that was mainly designed in and for the analogue age. One of these challenges is related to the fair balance between the interests of rightholders and other members of the society. Copyright norms try to guarantee this balance by granting a high level of protection for rightholders and preserving some flexibility for end-users. The present article focuses on whether platforms’ end-user license agreements contribute to the preservation of that balance, and how they allow for or diminish the exercise of user flexibilities.

Rewarding Failure with Patents

[Robin Feldman] Abstract: It is axiomatic that patents promote success. And yet, a contrary notion—that the patent incentive for medicine should be sufficient to compensate for the losses incurred when research fails—is quietly permeating modern court decisions, commentary, and Congressional discussions, coloring debates relating to pricing and regulation of medicine. The conceptualization is moving forward unchallenged, as if failure compensation follows logically from the innovation incentives built into the patent construct. As this article demonstrates, however, the notion is antithetical to patent law, putting modern conceptualizations on a collision course with the history and theory of patents reaching back to this nation’s inception.

How Patent Rights Affect University Science

[Laurent R. Bergé, Thorsten Doherr, and Katrin Hussinger] Abstract: How do intellectual property rights influence academic science? We investigate the consequences of the introduction of software patents in the U.S. on the publications of university researchers in the field of computer science. Difference-in-difference estimations reveal that software scientists at U.S. universities produced fewer publications (both in terms of quantity and quality) than their European counterparts after patent rights for software inventions were introduced. We then introduce a theoretical model that accounts for substitution and complementarity between patenting and publishing as well as for the direction of research. In line with the model’s prediction, further results show that the decrease in publications is largest for scientists at the bottom of the ability distribution. Further, we evidence a change in the direction of research following the reform towards more applied research.

Inequitable COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution and Intellectual Property Rights Prolong the Pandemic

[Emrah Altindis] Introduction: ...Ending this global pandemic seems unlikely with the current patent and technology sharing systems because (i) the number of available vaccine doses is limited by the production capacity of the companies owning the patents, recipes, and technology and (ii) the inequitable distribution of the limited supply of vaccines throughout the world. India and South Africa put forward a proposal at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to temporarily suspend intellectual property rights and gained the support of over two-thirds of the member countries including the USA. However, several wealthy countries still oppose this proposal, including the European Union, which procured 6.9 doses for each inhabitant, as well as the United Kingdom and Canada, which respectively procured 8.2 and 10.1 vaccines doses for each inhabitant.

Copyright Content Moderation in the EU: An Interdisciplinary Mapping Analysis

[João Pedro Quintais, Péter Mezei, István Harkai, João Vieira Magalhães, Christian Katzenbach, Sebastian Felix Schwemer, and Thomas Riis] Abstract: This report is part of the reCreating Europe project and describes the results of the research carried out in the context of Work Package 6 on the mapping of the EU legal framework and intermediaries’ practices on copyright content moderation. The Report addresses the following main research question: how can we map the impact on access to culture in the Digital Single Market of content moderation of copyright-protected content on online platforms?