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Harvard Study Says Weak Copyright Benefits Society

Posted by samzenpus on from the free-is-good dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Michael Geist summarizes an important new study on file sharing from economists Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Koleman Strumpf. The Harvard Business School working paper finds that given the increase in artistic production along with the greater public access conclude that 'weaker copyright protection, it seems, has benefited society.' The authors point out that file sharing may not result in reduced incentives to create if the willingness to pay for 'complements' such as concerts or author speaking tours increases."

6 of 326 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Media Frenzy by Joce640k · · Score: 2, Funny

    You want media companies to run stories on how copyright might be bad?

    Email me privately, I've got an offer you'll be interested in.

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    No sig today...
  2. Re:Err.. by grenthar · · Score: 2, Funny

    Carve a statue. Nobody forced you to create with a medium that can be digitally reproduced.

  3. Re:Pointless by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Funny

    Really? And here I was under the impression that "politics" stems from "poly" meaning many, and "ticks" meaning "little blood sucking pests".

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    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  4. Amusing in the context of the paper by TheP4st · · Score: 3, Funny
    From the first page of the of the paper

    This working paper is distributed for purposes of comment and discussion only. It may not be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder.

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    "I have downloaded hundreds and hundreds of records, why would I care if somebody downloads ours?" Robin Pecknold
  5. Re:So what? by Crazyswedishguy · · Score: 2, Funny

    I've scanned your signed picture and posted it on bittorrent. Enjoy!

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    This space up for sale.
  6. Re:No, YOU'RE the retard. by vivaelamor · · Score: 2, Funny

    Holy crap, you're using a comparison with the oil industry to strengthen your argument for copyright? That's kinda like saying murder is OK because we have wars.