Ghafele and Gibert (2014)
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Source Details
| Ghafele and Gibert (2014) | |
| Title: | A Counterfactual Impact Analysis of Fair Use Policy on Copyright Related Industries in Singapore |
| Author(s): | Ghafele, R., Gibert, B. |
| Year: | 2014 |
| Citation: | Ghafele, R., & Gibert, B. (2014). A Counterfactual Impact Analysis of Fair Use Policy on Copyright Related Industries in Singapore. Laws, 3(2), 327-352. |
| Link(s): | Open Access |
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| About the Data | |
| Data Description: | The study takes a difference in difference analysis, and it involves two tests: first, comparing the growth rates of private copying industries to a control group before and after the 2005 fair use amendments, and second, comparing copyright industries to the same control group after the intervention date. Specifically, the pre-intervention period is 1999–2004; the intervention date is 01/01/2005 and the post-intervention period is 2005–2010. The data source is the Singapore Department of Statistics, which provides the statistics at a disaggregated industry level. |
| Data Type: | Secondary data |
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| Cross Country Study?: | No |
| Comparative Study?: | Yes |
| Literature review?: | No |
| Government or policy study?: | No |
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Abstract
“Are more flexible fair use approaches, which require a test for determining whether new uses should be permitted, correlated with economic growth? Using the example of Singapore, we assess the extent to which fair use is related with growth in private copying technology and copyright markets. With reference to a differences-in-differences (DiD) methodology applied to the 2005 fair use amendments of the Singapore Copyright Act we test the law’s implications on private copying technology and copyright sectors in Singapore. The modifications of the Singapore Copyright Act were part of a set of changes of its Intellectual Property (IP) laws undertaken in the context of a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. Our findings seem to support the hypothesis that a more flexible fair use policy is correlated with faster growth rates in private copying technology industries. However, the counterfactual impact analysis did not support our second hypothesis, that flexible fair use policy would be correlated with higher growth in the copyright industries (indirectly via the growth of private copying technology industries). Thus, while the growth of copyright industries slowed down to a limited extent after 2005, the industrial group did not experience the degree of negative impact we expected. Moreover, this limited negative impact was offset by the positive impact of fair use policy correlated with higher growth in private copying technology industries. We caution that a counterfactual analysis cannot be used to attribute a causal relationship. It can only establish a correlation between a policy and a given outcome. Our findings must be read in this light. Further research, containing more comprehensive data sets and possibly also singling out international trade aspects, would benefit the debate on the interplay of copyright law and economic growth.”
Main Results of the Study
The study's findings indicate that the amendments to copyright law in Singapore, which introduced a more flexible fair use policy, had a positive impact on the growth rates of private copying technology industries. This supports the study's initial hypothesis. The research model shows a correlation between the fair use policy and increased growth in these private copying technology sectors. However, the study did not find support for its second hypothesis, which suggested that the flexible fair use policy would also lead to higher growth in the copyright industries, indirectly through the growth of private copying technology industries. In fact, the copyright industries experienced only a limited decrease in growth after 2005. This suggests that the negative impact on copyright industries, as argued by some against personal copying, was not as significant as expected. Furthermore, the positive impact of the flexible fair use policy on the growth of private copying technology industries outweighed the minor negative impact on copyright industries.
Policy Implications as Stated By Author
The study does not make any explicit policy recommendations.
Coverage of Study
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