Copyright’s Arc

213 Pages·2020·1.529 MB·English

by  Martin Skladany

copyright’s arc
In Copyright’s Arc, Martin Skladany rejects a one-size-fits-all copyright regime. Within
developed countries, copyright's incentives have spawned multinational corporations
that create a plethora of slick, hyped entertainment options that encourage Americans
to overconsume, whereas in developing countries, extreme copyright blocks the wide-
spreaddistributionofentertainment,whichimpedeswomen’sequalityandhumanrights
movements. Meanwhile, moderate copyright in middle-income countries helps foster
artistic movements that forge inclusive national identities. Given these conditions,
Skladany argues that copyright should vary between countries, following an arc across
thedevelopmentspectrum.
martin skladany is Professor of intellectual property, law & technology, and law &
international development at Penn State Dickinson Law. He is the author of Big
Copyright Versus the People: How Major Content Providers are Destroying Creativity
andHowtoStopThem(CambridgeUniversityPress,2018).
’
Copyright s Arc
MARTIN SKLADANY
Penn State Dickinson Law
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www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781108484787
doi:10.1017/9781108676298
©MartinSkladany2020
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Firstpublished2020
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title:Copyright’sarc/MartinSkladany,PennStateDickinsonLaw.
description:Cambridge,UnitedKingdom;NewYork,NY,USA:CambridgeUniversity
Press,2020.|Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
identifiers:lccn2019060103(print)|lccn2019060104(ebook)|isbn9781108484787(hardback)|
isbn9781108723558(paperback)|isbn9781108676298(epub)
subjects:lcsh:Copyright–Economicaspects.|Internationaleconomicrelations.|
Lawandeconomicdevelopment.
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For Caroline
hopeless to ever define you
hopeful to forever love you
Contents
Acknowledgments page ix
Introduction 1
1 Problems of Global Copyright 9
2 ReducingCopyright in DevelopingCountries 24
3 Copyright, Middle-Income Countries, and National Inclusivity 65
4 ReducingCopyright in Developed Countries 105
5 InteractionbetweenCopyright Regimes 144
6 Transitioning to Copyright’sArc 179
Conclusion 189
Index 195
vii
Acknowledgments
IwouldliketothankMattGallaway,senioreditoratCambridgeUniversityPress,for
his insightful advice and expertise. I would also like to thank Cameron Daddis at
Cambridge University Press. The book was tremendously improved by the know-
ledge and skill ofMaryBoniece.
I am appreciative of the support from my colleagues at Penn State Dickinson
Law,especiallyDeanDanielleConway.Iamalsothankfulforthecommentsofthe
anonymous reviewers.
I wish I could put in print the names of all the individuals who have taught me
over the years. In particular, I am immensely thankful to a host of individuals for
their contributions and inspiration, including Bruce Ackerman, Akhil Reed Amar,
Ian Ayres, Mark Bartholomew, Barton Beebe, Yochai Benkler, Bre Bennett, Ha-
Joon Chang, Michaela Cloutier, Jeffrey Cunard, Jeffrey Edelstein, Owen Fiss,
Shubha Ghosh, Gary Gildin, Yulier Gonzalez, James Grimmelmann, Dermot
Groome, Henry Hansmann, Robert Harrison, Gilbert Harman, Peter Jaszi, Eric
E.Johnson,AshliJones,DanielKahneman,HaroldHongjuKoh,MartinHusovec,
Mark Lemley, Michael Madison, Karen McGuinness, Logan Miller, Anna Ortiz,
AaronPerzanowski,AlexPhillips,LaurelPriceJones,RhysPriceJones,W.Michael
Reisman, Jacob H. Rooksby, Paul Salerni, Joshua Sarnoff, Tim Schnabel, Peter
Singer, Richard Stallman, Bruce Thomas, James Whitman, and Fred Yen.
I would like to thank the Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society for
allowing me toreprint portions ofpreviously publishedideas.
My hardworking, disciplined, and unbelievably generous parents inspired me
through their example. Thank you.
Iamappreciativeofmy kids'love. Finally, Iwouldliketothankmy wifeforher
patience, editorial help, and willingnessto talkideas.
ix
Introduction
Hewhoisunabletoliveinsociety,orwhohasnoneedbecauseheissufficientforhimself,
mustbeeitherabeastoragod.
—Aristotle1
We humans, unlike beasts and gods, have many needs and are insufficient in
ourselves.Weareinart’sgrip,needingtoconsumeandcreateartfortheintellectual
stimulation,forthechallenge,forthejoyofstandinginthepresenceofbeautyand
communicatingwith fellow humans.There maybeno escaping it.Or,ifescape is
possible,freedomfromartisanill-advisedstrategyforliving.Giventheimportance
of art to our being, the regulation of it through copyright is of fundamental
importance.
Artisauniversalhumanneed,butthemeaningandimpactofparticularworks
can vary, and our response to art can vary depending on our life circumstances.
A film by Ousmane Sembène critiquing the new bourgeoisie may galvanize
SenegalesecitizensbutinadvertentlypandertoAmericans;likewise,aHollywood
blockbuster celebrating liberal values may entertain and distract audiences in
developed countries but inspire and politicize them in developing countries.
The overarching policy of copyright should be to assist, when possible, in maxi-
mizing the positive potential of art’s different roles and to adapt to the needs of
different societies. Practically this means different societies require not only
different amounts and types of art but different amounts and types of copyright
regulation.Copyrightis notinherentlygoodorbad;neitherisitanendin and of
itself.Itisatoolthatisonlysometimeshelpful.Thus,copyrightlawshouldnotbe
uniform across countries but rather vary, possibly substantially, from one country
to the next.
1 Aristotle,Politics(bk.I,1253a27–29),in2TheCompleteWorksofAristotle1986,1988
(J.Barnesed.,B.Jowetttrans.,PrincetonUniversityPress1985)(c.350B.C.E.).
1
2 Introduction
This book argues that copyright should follow an arc across the development
spectrum: copyright’s scope, depth, and length should be substantially reduced in
both developed and developing countries, where it harms or hinders the develop-
ment of individuals and societies, but it should continue in varying, but reduced,
degreesinmiddle-incomecountrieslikeChina,Nigeria,Mexico,andRussia,where
2
itcanstimulatecontinueddevelopment. Indevelopingcountries,copyrightshould
beminimizedtoallowforthefreerflowofdomesticandinternationalartwork.Over
time, such broad distribution would encourage developing country citizens to
deepen their commitment to liberal values. An example of the positive impact of
increased distribution has been documented by Robert Jensen and Emily Oster in
theirstudyontheintroductionofcableTVinruralIndianvillages;thestudyfound
that both domestic and international artwork had a rapid and robust positive influ-
ence on women’s perceptions of themselves and their actions.3 In middle-income
countries, where more individuals have the opportunity to make a living as artists
and to draw fulfillment from creating, copyright can help spawn an artistic renais-
sance and advance development through forging a constructive, inclusive national
identity. Yet the societymay reach a stagein the transition from middle income to
rich where copyrighted art is so successful that it turns most citizens into overly
passive consumers and in effect monopolizes creativity. Hence in developed coun-
tries copyright should be minimized to reduce the amount of artwork average
citizens consume in an effort to spur them to create more on their own. In this
arc of three distinct phases, copyright must support the human quest for value and
meaning,in which creativity plays an essential part.
developing countries on copyright’s arc
Entertainment corporations have effectively lobbied the US government to put
pressure on other countries in trade negotiations to increase intellectual property
(IP) protections. In the face of the subsequent extreme global copyright regime,
diverse groups have banded together to critique current IP laws under numerous
movements,suchastheaccesstoknowledgeandintellectualpropertysocialjustice
4
movements.
2 Throughoutthebook,IusetheWorldBank’sclassificationsystemtodivideeconomiesinto
developing, middle income, and developed, although I conflate the World Bank’s lower-
middle-incomeandupper-middle-incomeeconomiesintoonecategory.WorldBank,World
BankCountryandLendingGroups,WorldBank,https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowl
edgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups(lastvisitedSept.15,2019).
3 RobertJensen&EmilyOster,ThePowerofTV:CableTelevisionandWomen’sStatusinIndia,
124Q.J.Econ.1057,1059(2009).Atthetime,Indiawasclassifiedasadevelopingcountry.Itis
nowconsideredamiddle-incomecountry.
4 SeegenerallyLeaShaver,AccesstoKnowledgeinBrazil:NewResearchonIntellec-
tual Property, Innovation and Development (2d ed. 2010); Joshua D. Sarnoff,
Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and Climate Change (2016); and
DevelopingCountriesonCopyright’sArc 3
WhileactivistsandscholarsareworkingtomakeallfieldsofIPresponsivetothe
needsofdiversegroups–forexample,inpatentlawthroughmorewidelydistribut-
inglifesavingdrugs–alargethrustoftheircopyrighteffortsindevelopingcountries
have centered on increasing access to educational materials. Meanwhile, intellec-
tual property social justice theorists, such as Lateef Mtima, properly reorient our
attentiontothefactthat“theultimatefunctionofintellectualpropertyprotectionis
to cultivate human development and advancement,” which may require “that
prevailingintellectual propertynorms can andshould besociallyrehabilitated.”5
Myfocusisthevalueofsignificantlyweakeningcopyrightlawsoastomaximize
the circulation of both developing and developed country artwork in developing
countries,bearinginmindthatonekeylessonofintersectionalityhasbeenthatany
6
uniformpolicywilltendtohavedisparateimpactsondifferentgroups. Weneedto
recognize that freely accessible artwork has the ability over the long term to alter
how individuals think about human rights, freedom, and equality and hence to
improve how countries fundamentally operate.
Developingcountriesmustbattletoattaintheruleoflawandgoodgovernance–
the fundamental components that define development more than economic
success – in the face of domestic corruption and international exploitation.7 In
thesecircumstances,therearetoofewtoolstodefendhumanrights–forexample,
prosecutions, explicit educational campaigns, and name-and-shame tactics – and
many of the existing tools lose their intended power when wielded by corrupt
publicofficialswhodenydemocracyandsuppressequality.Croniesmakeineffect-
ive anti-corruption task force members.
Madhavi Sunder, From Goods to a Good Life: Intellectual Propertyand Global
Justice(2012).RosemaryCoombenotesthatIP
is now considered in relation to principles of environmental sustainability, access to
knowledgeandmeanstosustainhealth,thecivilrightsofminorities,thesocialrightsof
thedisabled,recognitionofindigenouspeoples’culturalheritage,equalityofopportunity
forcreatorgroups,securityofsubsistencelivelihoods,foodsovereignty,andthemainten-
anceofbiologicaldiversity,tonamebutafewofthenewglobalterrainsofstruggleinwhich
itfigures.
RosemaryJ.Coombe,Foreword:DiversifyingIntellectualProperty,inDiversityinIntellectual
Property:Identities,Interests,andIntersectionsxviii(IreneCalboli&SrividhyaRagavaneds.,
2015).
5 Lateef Mtima, From Swords to Ploughshares: Towards a Unified Theory of Intellectual
PropertySocialJustice,inIntellectualProperty,EntrepreneurshipandSocialJustice
265,265–66(2015).
6
SeegenerallyKimberléCrenshaw,DemarginalizingtheIntersectionofRaceandSex:ABlack
FeministCritiqueofAntidiscriminationDoctrine,FeministTheoryandAntiracistPolitics,1989
U.Chi.LegalF.139(1989).
7 WorldBank,supranote2.ThecountriesontheWorldBanklistoflow-incomeeconomiesare
Afghanistan,Benin,BurkinaFaso,Burundi,CentralAfricanRepublic,Chad,TheDemocratic
RepublicoftheCongo,Eritrea,Ethiopia,TheGambia,Guinea,Guinea-Bissau,Haiti,North
Korea, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra
Leone,Somalia,SouthSudan,Syria,Tajikistan,Tanzania,Togo,Uganda,andYemen.