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Digital piracy: Causes, consequences, and strategic responses

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Abstract

What should copyright holders do about the piracy of digital media? This paper first discusses the causes of piracy, with particular reference to the factors that lead consumers to engage in piracy en masse. Then it explores the consequences of piracy for copyright holders. The final section of the paper builds upon the proceeding sections to look at the different strategic responses copyright holders can adopt to deal with piracy. Given widespread digital piracy in Asia, these insights have particular relevance for the region.

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Notes

  1. Data accessed from http://www.ifpi.org

  2. See the 2005 Piracy Report from the Business Software Alliance at http://www.bsa.org

  3. Data accessed from http://www.mpaa.org/anti-piracy/

  4. RIAA. Market Data, archived at http://www.riaa.org

  5. comScore Matrix, “Sharp Decline in Music File Swapping,” Press Release, January 4, 2004, archived at http://comscore.com.

  6. M. Dickie, “Starbucks wins case against Chinese copycat,” Financial Times, January 3, 2006, page 1

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Correspondence to Charles W. L. Hill.

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I thank Mike Peng (Editor-in-Chief) for his interest, encouragement, and hands-on editorial assistance.

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Hill, C.W.L. Digital piracy: Causes, consequences, and strategic responses. Asia Pacific J Manage 24, 9–25 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-006-9025-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-006-9025-0

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