If You Build It, They Won’t Come: Placing User-Generated Content in Context of Commercial Copyright Policy
Mashing-Up Culture: The Rise of User-Generated Content Workshop, Uppsala University, Sweden, May 13th-14th, 2009
17 Pages Posted: 19 May 2009
Date Written: May 19, 2009
Abstract
The present paper deals with policy changes to copyright law in light of the explosion in user-generated content, and its growing relevance to people. There are two narratives at work in modern debates about copyright. Firstly, commercial content owners (the traditional copyright industries) tend to over-emphasise the importance to the economy of maintaining the status quo, particularly by stressing the figure of copyright as a source of livelihood for struggling artists. Secondly, there is the one presented by user-generated content advocates, which assumes that it will bring about a more equal and democratic internet. The starting point will be to study usage figures for both commercial and non-commercial content, followed by an analysis of its possible implications for the much-needed overhaul in copyright policy.
Keywords: user-generated content, self-organisation, long tail, copyright
JEL Classification: K30
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation