Author(s)
William M. Landes and Richard A. Posner
Source
AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies, 2004
Summary
This paper looks at how intellectual property law has changed over time.
Policy Relevance
Copyright law has become more complex and extensive over time, especially after 1976. Special interest lobbying is a significant factor in this growth.
Main Points
- Over the past 50 years copyright law has expanded.
- The number of words in the statute has grown compared to the number of copyrighted works.
- Much growth happened after the 1976 Copyright Act.
- “Public choice” economists study how interest groups such as firms lobby for advantages from government. Public choice helps explain regulation, but it is harder to explain deregulation this way.
- Special interests have played a significant role in expanding copyright law. Campaign contributions are evidence of this.
- Some believe that the number of copyrights have grown since, as a form of property, they are in the public interest, but this does not entirely explain growth since 1976.
- Thinking of intellectual property as property is a simplification, because the regulatory role of government is quite different in intellectual property.
