Bhattacharjee, Gopal, Lertwachara and Marsden (2006b)
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Source Details
Bhattacharjee, Gopal, Lertwachara and Marsden (2006b) | |
Title: | Impact of legal threats on online music sharing activity: An analysis of music industry legal actions |
Author(s): | Bhattacharjee, S., Gopal, R. D., Lertwachara, K., Marsden, J. R. |
Year: | 2006 |
Citation: | Bhattacharjee, S., Gopal, R. D., Lertwachara, K., & Marsden, J. R. (2006). Impact of Legal Threats on Online Music Sharing Activity: An Analysis of Music Industry Legal Actions*. Journal of law and economics, 49(1), 91-114. |
Link(s): | Definitive |
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Discipline: | |
Linked by: | Cox, Collins and Drinkwater (2010), Cronan and Al-Rafee (2008), Hunt, Williams, Nicholas and Rowlands (2009) |
About the Data | |
Data Description: | Passive observation using tracked data of 2,056 P2P users on Kazaa. Participants were selected from a pool of 6,000 most active users and then broken down for equal genre distribution. |
Data Type: | Primary data |
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Data Analysis Methods: | |
Industry(ies): | |
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Cross Country Study?: | No |
Comparative Study?: | No |
Literature review?: | |
Government or policy study?: | |
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Abstract
The music industry has repeatedly expressed concerns over potentially devastating impacts of online music sharing. Initial attempts to control online file sharing have been primarily through consumer education and legal action against the operators of networks that facilitated file sharing. Recent legal action against individual file sharers marked an unprecedented shift in the industry’s strategy. The focus now is on well‐publicized legal threats and actions on a relatively small group of individuals to discourage overall music file sharing. To determine the resulting impact of these legal threats, we passively tracked online file‐sharing behavior of over 2,000 individuals. We found that individuals who share a substantial number of music files react to legal threats differently from those who share a lesser number of files. Importantly, our analysis indicates that even after these legal threats and the resulting lowered levels of file sharing, the availability of music files on these networks remains substantial.
Main Results of the Study
Pursuing individual P2P users through threats of and actual legal action has mixed results. Initially, users decrease their filesharing in the face of legal action. However, a wide selection of files remain available for download despite action against users.
Policy Implications as Stated By Author
The music industry might find more success with experimenting with new business strategies rather than expending resources pursuing individual legal action against potential future customers.
Coverage of Study
Datasets
Sample size: | 2056 |
Level of aggregation: | P2P users |
Period of material under study: | 2003 |