Intellectual Property

While the majority of research on file-sharing has focused primarily on whether file-sharing has decreased record sales, less attention has been paid to how much of the sales decline can be attributed to file sharing. At the event, “The Effect of File Sharing on Music and Movie Sales: Reviewing the Research,” Stan Liebowitz, Ashbel Smith Professor of Economics at the University of Texas at Dallas, will discuss the findings of his recent paper, “The Metric is the Message: How much of the Decline in Sound Recording Sales is due to File-Sharing?” In the paper, Liebowitz applies a consistent metric to existing research and finds that most estimates indicate that file-sharing is responsible for the entire decline in record sales. Coleman Bazelon from The Brattle Group, Inc., coauthor of “The Impact of Digitization on Business Models in Copyright-Driven Industries,” will discuss the findings of Liebowitz’s paper.