Montgomery, L et al ~ Learning to Love the Market

Montgomery, Lucy
Keane, Michael

Chapter 8 in Thomas, PN et al ~ Intellectual Property Rights and Communications in Asia

130
“Copyright reform represents a point of convergence between political, social, cultural and economic forces.” see also p147

136
“A failure to recognise economic potential makes it more difficult to manage cultural activities so as to promote capacity building and value creation.” Like the film industry today: they don’t see how to make money without copyright, so they don’t develop ideas how to make money without copyright.
“In short, the political and ideological context in which China’s filmmakers must operate is preventing copyright from playing a larger role in the film industry’s value chain.”

137
“Copyright continues to be separated from the core problems of filmmaking in the minds of many Chinese directors.”

137f
“‘the biggest problem is not piracy but the system of censorship, and the second is that there is not a film market.'”

139
“[…] many studios do in fact choose to sell master copies to pirate distributors. […] in order to recoup some money from the practice.”

147
“Copyright represents the convergence of several highly sensitive areas: media, law, economics, politics and ideology.”
“However, as the film industry demonstrates, copyright currently plays a relatively minor role in commercial decisions made by film producers. Censorship and distribution irregularities prevent copyright from functioning more prominently within the industry’s business model. Entrenched ditribution monopolies, outdated modes of rights trading and payment and failure to enforce existing laws are all undermining copyright’s role. Pervasive piracy means that distribution on DVD is barely worth considering as a revenue stream.

Examined strategies for survival without IP:

  • TV: advertising (142f), but that has collapsed, hasn’t it?
  • Film: product placement + sale of music copyright (145), but is that anything new?
About the author

Woitek Konzal

Producer, Consultant, Lecturer & Researcher. I love working where technology meets media in novel ways. Once, I even won an Emmy for digital innovation doing that. Be it for a small but exciting campaign about underground electronic music collectives or for a monster project combining two movies, various 360° videos, 72 ARG-like mini puzzles, and a Unity game, all wrapped up in one cross-platform app – I have proven my ability to adapt to what is required. This passion for novel technologies has regularly allowed me to cross paths with tech startups – an industry and philosophy I am all set to engage with more. I intensely enjoy balancing out my practical work with academic research, teaching, and consulting. Also, I have a PhD in Creative Industries, a M.Sc. in Business Administration, and love to kitesurf.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply