Occupy Copyright - A Law & Economic Analysis of U.S. Author Termination Rights

60 Pages Posted: 10 Apr 2014 Last revised: 4 May 2015

See all articles by Kate Darling

Kate Darling

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - MIT Media Laboratory

Date Written: March 1, 2014

Abstract

U.S. law grants authors a contract termination right thirty-five years after the license or transfer of their copyrights. This Article contributes to the ongoing debate over this law by providing economic perspective. Because of price changes, risk allocation, hold-up problems, and other effects on author and publisher incentives, it predicts that the economic costs of introducing termination rights will outweigh the benefits. This work concludes that the current structure of author termination rights in the United States is at odds with its political justification, as well as the utilitarian purpose of copyright law.

Keywords: Intellectual Property, Copyright, Author Termination Rights, Law & Economics

Suggested Citation

Darling, Kate, Occupy Copyright - A Law & Economic Analysis of U.S. Author Termination Rights (March 1, 2014). 63 Buff. L. Rev. 147, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2422672

Kate Darling (Contact Author)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - MIT Media Laboratory ( email )

20 Ames St.
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307
United States

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