Law Commons^™

Fear And Norms And Rock & Roll: What Jambands Can Teach Us About Persuading People To Obey Copyright Law, Mark F. Schultz

Mark F Schultz

Conventional wisdom says that people using modern technology are unlikely to obey copyright law, absent fear of lawsuits or extremely strong copy protection. This Article challenges that conventional wisdom. It explores why people obey copyright law and concludes that people can be persuaded to obey copyright voluntarily, provided that copyright owners can encourage the development of pro-copyright social norms.

This Article contributes to both the social norms and the copyright literature by explaining how pro-copyright social norms might be fostered from a behavioral trait known as reciprocity. It draws insight from a case study of a community of music fans …