Title: On artefacts and middlemen: a musician's note on the economics of copyright

Authors: Denis Borges Barbosa

Addresses: Rua do Ouvidor 121/6 Rio de Janeiro, 20040030, Brazil

Abstract: This article approaches some concrete examples of the economic analysis involving cultural expressions and the ability of intellectual property to respond to economic demands, particularly with regard to the reproductive models in the markets. This analysis appears not to be linked to the substantive levels of the expressive production but rather to the changing role of mediators in such production operating as intermediaries between creators and consumers. New technologies over the time had not only allowed an incredible reduction of costs related to the dissemination of works, but also a qualitative change in the economics of expressive production. From this standpoint, the author recalls the importance of the scholarly debate on the legal and economic perspectives of expressive production.

Keywords: intellectual property management; copyright; limitations and exceptions; expressive production; cultural mediators; digital economy; cost of expression; free riding; expressive production economics; music; musicians; reproductive models; new technology; creative industries; law; cost reduction; cultural dissemination; Brazil.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIPM.2010.029749

International Journal of Intellectual Property Management, 2010 Vol.4 No.1/2, pp.23 - 44

Published online: 01 Dec 2009 *

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