TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Piercing the Peer-to-Peer Myths: Examination of Canadian

Piercing the Peer-to-Peer Myths: Examination of Canadian

Monty Solomon (monty@roscom.com)
Tue, 12 Apr 2005 00:03:39 -0400

Piercing the peer-to-peer myths: An examination of the Canadian experience
by Michael Geist

Abstract

Canada is in the midst of a contentious copyright reform with
advocates for stronger copyright protection maintaining that the
Internet has led to widespread infringement that has harmed the
economic interests of Canadian artists. The Canadian Recording
Industry Association (CRIA) has emerged as the leading proponent of
copyright reform, claiming that peer-to-peer file sharing has led to
billions in lost sales in Canada.

This article examines CRIA's claims by conducting an analysis of
industry figures. It concludes that loss claims have been greatly
exaggerated and challenges the contention that recent sales declines
are primarily attributable to file-sharing activities. Moreover, the
article assesses the financial impact of declining sales on Canadian
artists, concluding that revenue collected through a private copying
levy system already adequately compensates Canadian artists for the
private copying that occurs on peer-to-peer networks.

http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue10_4/geist/

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