Authors

Michael Palmedo

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-2021

Abstract

Copyrights grant creators long periods of market exclusivity during which they or their agents have the exclusive right to reproduce and distribute their works. However, copyright exceptions limit their scope and strength. The laws on both copyright protection and copyright exceptions vary substantially from one country to the next. This working paper introduces a novel, survey-based dataset that describes changes to 24 countries’ laws on copyright exceptions over time. To explore the data, I construct two indices from subsets of the dataset; one that focus on exceptions related to ICT technologies and another that focuses on educational uses. The indices show that copyright exceptions have grown stronger since 1990, and that wealthier countries tend to have stronger exceptions than poorer ones. Initial empirical tests suggest that exceptions related to ICT technologies are stronger in countries with larger ICT sectors, and exceptions for educational uses are stronger in countries with higher educational attainments. Both types of exceptions are negatively associated with the share of GDP produced by the copyright-producing industries. Countries have stronger exceptions when they have entered into trade agreements with the U.S., though bilateral American pressure to strengthen copyright protection is associated with weaker exceptions related to ICT technologies.

Appendix 1 - Copyright User Rights Survey.pdf (281 kB)
Appendix 1 - PIJIP Copyright User Rights Survey

Appendix 2.pdf (25 kB)
Appendix 2 - Questions in Tech and Edu Indices

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