Is There Potential for Collective Rights Management at the Global Level? Perspectives of a New Global Constitutionalism in the Creative Sector
Susy Frankel and Daniel Gervais (eds), The Evolution and Equilibrium of Copyright in the Digital Age, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge UK, 2014, pp. 241-268.
30 Pages Posted: 22 Jul 2015 Last revised: 6 Oct 2016
Date Written: October 15, 2014
Abstract
This chapter inquires into the possibility of collective rights management (CRM) systems playing an important role at the global level. The analysis departs from the insight that a globalising culture and the internet economy are both interested in a much simpler system of copyright licensing and that systems of CRM could be a promising solution. The chapter argues that a globalised CRM system would provide a counterpoise to the prevailing economic concentration that results from big entertainment corporations controlling intellectual property (IP) rights. The fundamental question is how the conflicting public-policy interests at issue, including IP, open markets and cultural diversity, could be reconciled. This challenging question is discussed from the theoretical perspective of a new global constitutionalism in the creative sector. What lessons can be learned from the current European debate on conflicting economic and cultural values in the CRM context? With regard to questions of implementation, the chapter will reflect on the need for some institutional structure at the international level and consider how a global CRM system could benefit from and interface with a global database for music and (potentially) audiovisual works.
Keywords: intellectual property, collective rights management, copyright licensing, open markets, cultural diversity, civil constitutionalism
JEL Classification: K10, K11, K21, K33
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation