This website uses cookies.

By clicking the "Accept" button or continuing to browse our site, you agree to first-party and session-only cookies being stored on your device to enhance site navigation and analyze site performance and traffic. For more information on our use of cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.

  1. Home
  2. Journals
  3. Journal of Economic Perspectives
  4. Spring 2003
  5. Indirect Liability for Copyright Infringement: Napster and Beyond

Indirect Liability for Copyright Infringement: Napster and Beyond

  • William Landes
  • Douglas Lichtman
Journal of Economic Perspectives
vol. 17, no. 2, Spring 2003
(pp. 113-124)
Download Full Text PDF
(Complimentary)

Abstract

When individuals infringe copyright, they often use tools, services, and venues provided by other parties. An enduring legal question asks to what extent those other parties should be held liable for the resulting infringement. For example, should a firm that produces photocopiers be required to compensate authors for any unauthorized copies made on that firm's machines? What about firms that manufacture personal computers or offer Internet access; should they be held liable, at least in part, for online music piracy? In this essay, we examine how modern copyright law addresses these questions and we evaluate the resulting system on economic grounds.

Citation

Landes, William, and Douglas Lichtman. 2003. "Indirect Liability for Copyright Infringement: Napster and Beyond ." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 17 (2): 113-124. DOI: 10.1257/089533003765888467

JEL Classification

  • K11 Property Law
  • O34 Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
  • L82 Entertainment; Media
There are no comments for this article.
Login to Comment