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Dead poets' property—how does copyright influence price?

Author

Listed:
  • Xing Li
  • Megan MacGarvie
  • Petra Moser

Abstract

Copyrights create long†lived intellectual property in goods ranging from science, literature, and music to news, film, and software. The economic effects of copyright, however, are difficult to identify in modern settings. This article exploits an unintended differential increase in copyright length under the UK Copyright Act of 1814—in favor of books by dead authors—to examine the effects of longer copyright terms on price. We find that a doubling in copyright length was associated with a substantial (roughly 50%) increase in the price of books. Additional years of copyright improved publishers' ability to practice intertemporal price discrimination.

Suggested Citation

  • Xing Li & Megan MacGarvie & Petra Moser, 2018. "Dead poets' property—how does copyright influence price?," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 49(1), pages 181-205, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:randje:v:49:y:2018:i:1:p:181-205
    DOI: 10.1111/1756-2171.12223
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    Cited by:

    1. Nicholas Bloom & John Van Reenen & Heidi Williams, 2019. "A toolkit of policies to promote innovation," Voprosy Ekonomiki, NP Voprosy Ekonomiki, issue 10.
    2. John Van Reenen, 2022. "Innovation and Human Capital Policy," NBER Chapters, in: Innovation and Public Policy, pages 61-83, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Laura Alfaro & Cathy Ge Bao & Maggie X. Chen & Junjie Hong & Claudia Steinwender, 2022. "Omnia Juncta in Uno: Foreign Powers and Trademark Protection in Shanghai’s Concession Era," NBER Working Papers 29721, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Abhishek Nagaraj, 2018. "Does Copyright Affect Reuse? Evidence from Google Books and Wikipedia," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(7), pages 3091-3107, July.
    5. Herz, Benedikt & Mejer, Malwina, 2020. "The effect of design protection on price and price dispersion: Evidence from automotive spare parts," MPRA Paper 109645, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 01 Sep 2021.
    6. Bradley, Wendy A. & Kolev, Julian, 2023. "How does digital piracy affect innovation? Evidence from software firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(3).
    7. Herz, Benedikt & Mejer, Malwina, 2021. "The effect of design protection on price and price dispersion: Evidence from automotive spare parts," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    8. Olena Ivus & Walter G. Park, 2022. "All rights reserved: Copyright protection and multinational knowledge transfers," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(3), pages 1064-1091, July.

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