www.jeremydebeer.ca

 

Are private copying levies the best way to deal with the challenges and opportunities that are arising in Canada's digital music market? I argue no in this article published in the Canadian Journal of law & Technology.

 
Although copyright markets are far from perfect, the appropriate response is to simplify market exchanges rather than undermine them through an expanded exemption/levy scheme. The concept of substituting third party liabilities for free-market transactions suffers from numerous flaws. This paper canvasses possible philosophical objections, constitutional constraints, international treaty issues, cross-subsidization concerns and outdated assumptions, all of which must be dealt with before a broad exemption/levy scheme would be viable in Canada. On balance, I argue that the downside of levies outweighs any benefits.

You can access the paper through CCH Canadian's database with a paid subscription, or download the paper here or from bepress here.