Forbes India Magazine - Is Not the Price, Is the Value: Revisiting Copyright Economics

"No author, artist or producer invests creativity or resources with a view of recoupment in 50 or 100 years. Empirical data indicates that the investment horizon in cultural industries is well below 10 years. There is also compelling evidence that the most intensive commercial exploitation takes place at the beginning and the end of the exclusive term. However, setting a term that rationally balances under-production and under-use of copyright works is closed as a policy option as international law stands. Though, the idea that works that are not being exploited should lose protection to the degree that they can be used by others is consistent with general principles of law. We find similar principles in the law of real property –landowner may lose title if rights are not asserted-, in competition law –compulsory licenses-, or contract law –revision and termination. Compulsory registration of copyright works contravenes the Berne Convention, the main international agreement governing Copyright, and altering that would be extremely cumbersome, but it does not prevent the development of a national voluntary scheme. In fact, there are many ‘private-national’ registration systems, such as ISBN for books, that already require information from authors by publishers and copyright libraries. Right holders who have published works often register them with collecting society and collecting societies exist for all the valuable rights protected by copyright law. There are also private companies that have registered works for the author in order to establish prior creation and provide evidence in the event of a dispute. A registration system would enable the eventual introduction of a renewal system into the copyright term. Copyright could become more similar to a patent by having an initial term of protection of a work, say 20 years, renewable for further terms. The advantage of this is twofold: it enables a ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ regime to function and, more relevant to the economics of copyright, it enables the market to function better in valuing a work. The vast majority of works are anyway out of print because they are deemed to have no commercial value while the copyright is still valid. Knowing that renewal would be necessary would also alter contractual terms between creators and intermediaries, thereby improving the efficiency of contracting and the prospect of fairer contracts for creators ..."