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Full-Text Articles in Law
Copyright Backlash, Ben Depoorter
Copyright Backlash, Ben Depoorter
Ben Depoorter
In the past decade the entertainment industry has waged a legally very successful campaign against online copyright infringements. In a series of high profile decisions, content industries persuaded courts to accept expansive interpretations of contributory enforcement, to create novel doctrines of copyright infringement, and to apply broad interpretations of statutory damage provisions. Many private file-sharers, technology companies, university administrators and Internet service providers have felt the reach of this litigation effort. Yet a significant empirical anomaly exists: even as the copyright industry has ramped up the level of deterrence, online copyright infringements continue unabated. Why has the legal battle against …
Technology & Torts: A Theory Of Memory Costs, Nondurable Precautions And Interference Effects, Ben Depoorter
Technology & Torts: A Theory Of Memory Costs, Nondurable Precautions And Interference Effects, Ben Depoorter
Ben Depoorter
This Article examines the influence of nondurable precaution technologies on the expansion of tort awards. We provide four contributions to the literature. First, we present a general, formal model on durable and non-durable precaution technology that focuses on memory costs. Second, because liability exposure creates interference, we argue that tort law perpetuates the expansion of awards. Third, because plaintiffs do not consider the social costs of interference effects, private litigation induces socially excessive suits. Fourth, while new harm-reducing technologies likely increase accident rates, such technologies also raise the ratio of trial costs to harm, leaving undetermined the overall effect of …
Tort Law And Probabilistic Litigation: How To Apply Multipliers To Address The Problem Of Negative Value Suits, Ben Depoorter
Tort Law And Probabilistic Litigation: How To Apply Multipliers To Address The Problem Of Negative Value Suits, Ben Depoorter
Ben Depoorter
This Article advances a proposal that brings to life valuable lawsuits that litigation costs currently discourage. Our proposal converts claims with negative expected values into positive expected value claims by implementing a novel system involving flexible conditional multipliers. Our proposal has two components. First, under the proposed system a plaintiff is allowed to select a damage multiplier that determines the amount of damages the plaintiff will receive if the litigation is successful. Second, courts select cases for litigation randomly with a probability inverse to the multiplier the plaintiff selected.
Law In The Shadow Of Bargaining: The Feedback Effect Of Civil Settlements, Ben Depoorter
Law In The Shadow Of Bargaining: The Feedback Effect Of Civil Settlements, Ben Depoorter
Ben Depoorter
Lawmakers, courts, and legal scholars often express concern that settlement agreements withhold important information from the public. This Essay identifies, to the contrary, problematic issues involving the availability of information on non-representative settlements. The theoretical and empirical evidence presented in this Essay demonstrates that, despite the widespread use of nondisclosure agreements, information on settlements is distributed both inside and outside legal communities, reaching actors through various channels including the oral culture in legal communities, specialized reporters, professional interest organizations, and media coverage. Moreover, information on private settlement agreements circulates more widely if the agreed compensation in a given settlement exceeds …
Technology & Uncertainty: The Shaping Effect On Copyright Law, Ben Depoorter
Technology & Uncertainty: The Shaping Effect On Copyright Law, Ben Depoorter
Ben Depoorter
This Article examines the symbiotic relationship between copyright law and technology. I describe how an environment characterized by rapid technological change creates two conditions that determine the direction and evolution of copyright law: legal delay and legal uncertainty. I explain how uncertainty over the application of existing copyright law to newly emerging technology catalyzes the actions of copyright owners and users. I argue that uncertainty and delay (1) have an enabling effect on anticopyright sentiments, (2) lead to a greater reliance on self-help efforts by content providers and users, and (3) induce legislative involvement in copyright law. In the final …
From 'Tragedy' To 'Disaster': Welfare Effects Of Commons And Anticommons Dilemmas, Sven Vanneste, Francesco Parisi, Alain Vanhiel, Ben Depoorter
From 'Tragedy' To 'Disaster': Welfare Effects Of Commons And Anticommons Dilemmas, Sven Vanneste, Francesco Parisi, Alain Vanhiel, Ben Depoorter
Ben Depoorter
In this paper, we explore the alleged symmetry between commons and anticommons dilemmas. Our experimental results reveal an interesting asymmetry. Anticommons situations generate greater opportunistic behavior than an equivalent commons dilemma (Study 1), and anticommons dilemmas yield a greater risk for underuse compared to commons dilemmas (Study 2). The results of the present study bring to light important deviations from the economic model, suggesting that other factors, such as behavioral attitudes towards property and psychological variables, affect cooperation differently in anticommons and commons dilemmas. Our findings complement the existing experimental literature on commons dilemmas and contradict the presumed economic symmetry …
Horizontal Political Externalities: The Supply And Demand Of Disaster Management, Ben Depoorter
Horizontal Political Externalities: The Supply And Demand Of Disaster Management, Ben Depoorter
Ben Depoorter
This Article discusses the dynamics of shared political accountability and provides a supply- and demand-side analysis of disaster management. Because multiple levels of government share political accountability in national scale disasters, disaster management is subject to a collective action problem. Introducing the concept of horizontal political externalities, this Article explains the shortcomings of disaster management in terms of asymmetric political accountability costs for ex ante preparedness and ex post relief. In the presence of shared accountability, investments in prevention and relief by one government actor confer positive externalities upon other government actors by reducing the overall chance of being held …
Fair Use And Copyright Protection: A Price Theory Explanation , Ben Depoorter, Francesco Parisi
Fair Use And Copyright Protection: A Price Theory Explanation , Ben Depoorter, Francesco Parisi
Ben Depoorter
Copyright scholars suggest that computer technology has reduced transaction costs associated with copyright transfer, allegedly eliminating the need for the fair use doctrines that were developed to allow limited use of copyrighted material in situations where the transaction costs of securing authorized use would be prohibitive. According to this emerging view, in an ideal world with no contracting costs, third party use of copyrighted material could realistically only take place with the express consent of the copyright holder. This would give the author absolute power to dispose of his work, including the right to veto uses, without the possibility of …
Simultaneous And Sequential Anticommons, Francesco Parisi, Norbert Schulz, Ben Depoorter
Simultaneous And Sequential Anticommons, Francesco Parisi, Norbert Schulz, Ben Depoorter
Ben Depoorter
This paper defines a framework for anticommons analysis based on the fragmentation of property rights. In differentiating between sequential and simultaneous cases of property fragmentation, we describe and assess the equilibria obtained under each scenario. Our model reveals how the private incentives of excluders do not capture the external effects of their decisions. Moreover, our model suggests that the result of underutilization of joint property increases monotonically in both (a) the extent of fragmentation; and (b) the foregone synergies and complementarities between the property fragments. Within this context, we can therefore explore important implications for possible institutional responses to a …
The Market For Copyrights: The Price Theory Of Copyright Collectives , Ben Depoorter, Francesco Parisi
The Market For Copyrights: The Price Theory Of Copyright Collectives , Ben Depoorter, Francesco Parisi
Ben Depoorter
This paper applies a model of complementary oligopoly and anticommons pricing to the market for intellectual property rights. Our model demonstrates a surprising and interesting overlooked result: In the market for complementary goods, price coordination and monopolistic pricing do not necessarily represent inefficient equilibria, when compared to the alternative Nash equilibrium. Due to the peculiar cross-price effects in the supply of complementary goods, price coordination and monopolistic supply often constitute an improvement over the alternative equilibrium outcomes. To be precise, the welfare effects of competition and price coordination depend on the nature of the intellectual product concerned. This has significant …