Defining the public domain in economic terms: Approaches and consequences for policy

Stimulating innovation and growth in the so-called ‘creative economy’ is a current policy objective for national regulators. One policy lever traditionally applied to the creative sector is intellectual property, in particular the scope and term of protection offered by copyright. Opposition to expa...

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Main Author: Kristofer Erickson
Format: Article
Language:Danish
Published: Norwegian University of Science and Technology Library 2016-05-01
Series:Etikk i Praksis: Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.ntnu.no/ojs/index.php/etikk_i_praksis/article/view/1951
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author Kristofer Erickson
author_facet Kristofer Erickson
author_sort Kristofer Erickson
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description Stimulating innovation and growth in the so-called ‘creative economy’ is a current policy objective for national regulators. One policy lever traditionally applied to the creative sector is intellectual property, in particular the scope and term of protection offered by copyright. Opposition to expansion and further enclosure of the copyright public domain was previously articulated in terms of access to a commons of information. Since the Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property in 2011, copyright reform in the UK context is increasingly framed in the language of economics.   This paper reviews two prevailing economic theories shaping how policy makers discuss the public domain in debates about IP reform: a welfare economics approach which weighs increases in producer and consumer surplus under different policy configurations and an economics of innovation approach which considers the value of the public domain as a reservoir of ideas for individuals and firms.  I argue that economic definitions should be augmented by a consideration of the democratic requirement of access to information. The consequences of this re-figuration of the public domain for the public interest and access to information are discussed.
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spelling doaj.art-69dd2f2eadc248c8982cdaba3b5288b82022-12-22T03:07:25ZdanNorwegian University of Science and Technology LibraryEtikk i Praksis: Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics1890-39911890-40092016-05-0110110.5324/eip.v10i1.1951Defining the public domain in economic terms: Approaches and consequences for policyKristofer Erickson0PhD in Political Geography Lord Kelvin Adam Smith Fellow in Social Sciences University of GlasgowStimulating innovation and growth in the so-called ‘creative economy’ is a current policy objective for national regulators. One policy lever traditionally applied to the creative sector is intellectual property, in particular the scope and term of protection offered by copyright. Opposition to expansion and further enclosure of the copyright public domain was previously articulated in terms of access to a commons of information. Since the Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property in 2011, copyright reform in the UK context is increasingly framed in the language of economics.   This paper reviews two prevailing economic theories shaping how policy makers discuss the public domain in debates about IP reform: a welfare economics approach which weighs increases in producer and consumer surplus under different policy configurations and an economics of innovation approach which considers the value of the public domain as a reservoir of ideas for individuals and firms.  I argue that economic definitions should be augmented by a consideration of the democratic requirement of access to information. The consequences of this re-figuration of the public domain for the public interest and access to information are discussed.https://www.ntnu.no/ojs/index.php/etikk_i_praksis/article/view/1951CopyrightIPpublic domainwelfare economicsinnovation economicspublic interest
spellingShingle Kristofer Erickson
Defining the public domain in economic terms: Approaches and consequences for policy
Etikk i Praksis: Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics
Copyright
IP
public domain
welfare economics
innovation economics
public interest
title Defining the public domain in economic terms: Approaches and consequences for policy
title_full Defining the public domain in economic terms: Approaches and consequences for policy
title_fullStr Defining the public domain in economic terms: Approaches and consequences for policy
title_full_unstemmed Defining the public domain in economic terms: Approaches and consequences for policy
title_short Defining the public domain in economic terms: Approaches and consequences for policy
title_sort defining the public domain in economic terms approaches and consequences for policy
topic Copyright
IP
public domain
welfare economics
innovation economics
public interest
url https://www.ntnu.no/ojs/index.php/etikk_i_praksis/article/view/1951
work_keys_str_mv AT kristofererickson definingthepublicdomainineconomictermsapproachesandconsequencesforpolicy