Fair Trade Copyright

45 Pages Posted: 2 Dec 2015

See all articles by Lital Helman

Lital Helman

Columbia Law School; Ono Academic College Faculty of Law

Date Written: February 22, 2013

Abstract

Digital media has challenged copyright law in the past decades. The ease with which digital files can be copied and disseminated has amplified copyright infringement and jeopardized the profitability of copyright-based industries around the globe.

In this article I propose a solution: to complement the copyright system with a Fair Trade Copyright system. The Fair Trade Copyright system, which would apply optimally in the realm of the music industry, would encourage users to donate to recording artists on digital platforms and distribute the donations to artists.

The implementation of my proposal will yield several improvements over the current system. First, it would enlarge the pie of revenues that flow into the music industry. Second, it would compensate recording artists, who are under-protected in the current regime, and augment their incentives to create. Third, this model would monetize illegal music consumption, and would achieve this at a relatively low cost and without harming law-enforcement efforts. Fourth, and finally, the model would potentially change the power balance within the music industry in favor of artists instead of intermediaries.

Suggested Citation

Helman, Lital and Helman, Lital, Fair Trade Copyright (February 22, 2013). Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts, Vol. 36, No. 157, 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2698069

Lital Helman (Contact Author)

Ono Academic College Faculty of Law ( email )

104 Zahal St.
Kiryat Ono, 55000
Israel

Columbia Law School ( email )

435 West 116th Street
New York, NY 10027
United States
(212) 854-5189 (Phone)

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