Intellectual Property in Creative Industries: The Economic Perspective

This chapter discusses essential elements of an economic analysis regarding the socio-economic implications of intellectual property (IP). The aim is to help scholars from various disciplines interested in the economic reasoning behind IP for creative industries to recognize logically consistent and well-rounded assessments or to develop them themselves. The chapter covers: (1) a general introduction to the economic perspective on IP; (2) the application of economic theory to address the implications of unauthorized use and copyright protection; (3) empirical evidence on the effects of copyright protection on rights holder revenues and innovation as well as alternatives to copyright to help finance creativity; (4) key topics in the relatively extensive economic literature on patents and how it may inform research on IP in creative industries. It also (5) points out new issues regarding IP in creative industries in the context of digitization.