Copyright law and the supply of creative work: Evidence from the movies

• Main Authors: PNG, Ivan Paak Liang, WANG, Qiu-Hong
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2016
• Subjects: Copyright term extension; European Rental Directive; Movie production; OECD countries; Databases and Information Systems; Intellectual Property Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sis_research/4161; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sis_research/article/5165/viewcontent/2016_copyrt_CLE.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

There is almost no empirical evidence on the extent to whichcopyright law works in the sense of increasing the production of creative work.Here, we study the impact of two major changes in copyright law – the extensionof copyright term and the European Rental Directive – on the production ofmovies. In a panel of 23 OECD countries, among which 19 extendedcopyright term at various times between 1991–2005, we found no statisticallyrobust evidence that copyright term extension was associated with higher movie production.In a panel of 17 European countries between 1991–2005, wefound no statistically robust evidence that compliance with the RentalDirective was associated with higher movie production. The extension of copyright term and European RentalDirective were particularly pertinent to the movie industry. Movies areparticularly long-lived, the Rental Directive specifically addressed the movieindustry, and, unlike other copyrightable products, sequential innovation isnot important in movies. Hence, if major changes in copyright law had nodiscernable impact on movie production, it seems the case for copyright law isweak indeed.