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HPSHELTON

Programming, Privacy, Politics, Photography

Jan 18, 2012

SOPA, Internet Regulation, and the Economics of Piracy →

Obviously, there's quite a lot of copyrighted material circulating on the Internet without authorization, and other things equal, one would like to see less of it. But does the best available evidence show that this is inflicting such catastrophic economic harm—that it is depressing so much output, and destroying so many jobs—that Congress has no option but to Do Something immediately?

Spoiler: No.

Even if Hollywood was able to magically convert all pirates into paying digital distribution customers, there would be no increase in jobs as unlimited digital copies require effectively zero cost and little if any labor after the first copy is made.

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H. Parker Shelton

I'm just an ordinary thirty-something who's had some extraordinary opportunities. I graduated from Johns Hopkins University, work for Microsoft in Silicon Valley, code websites and applications, take the occasional photograph, and keep a constant eye on current events, politics, and technology. This blog is the best of what catches that eye.

 
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