A great deal has been written on the theoretical aspects of copyright and the cultural industries but much less on the applied side - how copyright law works in practice. How do lawyers, firms and artists manage and administer copyright and what economic and legal problems does this raise? In recent times in particular, technological inventions appear to have outpaced the development of copyright law. This illuminating book addresses these issues and looks at the serious implications for copyright policy in the future.

Several of the authors question the efficacy of copyright, which is increasingly regarded as benefiting multinational organisations rather than individual authors and performers. Others are less critical of copyright per se, but question its ability to meet the new challenges of a digital era. Some of the specific issues covered include:

• law and international transactions of copyrighted material
• economic analysis of copyright and freedom of expression
• music licensing in the digital age
• the role of copyright in stimulating cultural development
• internet distribution of copyright material
• the problems of licensing museum images.

International in scope and offering views from both academics and practitioners, this book will interest and inform economists, lawyers and policymakers alike. Commercial managers and business analysts involved with copyright would also benefit from reading this comprehensive yet accessible book.

About the Author
Edited by Ruth Towse, Professor of Economics of Creative Industries, CIPPM, Bournemouth University and CREATe Fellow in Cultural Economics, University of Glasgow, UK

Reviews
'The chapters are well-written and thoroughly grounded, and cover a range of issues and topics. . . The introduction, by Ruth Towse, offers a good introduction to the concept of copyright, as well as outlining the remaining chapters. . . this is an excellent collection of papers on the issues confronting copyright in the cultural industries. . . This book should be required reading for all copyright policymakers, and is highly recommended for media managers and scholars who will be examining or having to deal with an increasingly problematic copyright structure.' -- Benjamin J. Bates, The International Journal on Media Management
'The editor Ruth Towse is to be commended both for the careful editing of the papers and the excellent introduction which both introduces the subject of copyright and summarises the papers presented.' -- Simon Stokes, European Intellectual Property Review
'Lawyers who are interested in looking beyond the law as it is, to see how economists are questioning copyright systems as they respond to technological change, are sure to find something of interest in this collection.' -- David Lewisohn, Entertainment Law Review
'. . . this collection of essays is soundly written and impressively backed up by references to source materials. It provides some stimulating reading.' -- Kevin Garnett QC, Copyright World Magazine



Book Information
ISBN 9781840646610
Author Ruth Towse
Format Hardback
Page Count 288
Imprint Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
Publisher Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd