Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-13-2013
Abstract
Should copyright infringement claims be treated as marketable assets? Copyright law has long emphasized the free and independent alienability of its exclusive rights. Yet, the right to sue for infringement — that copyright law simultaneously grants authors in order to render its exclusive rights operational — has never been thought of as independently assignable, or indeed as the target of investments by third parties. As a result, discussions of copyright law and policy rarely ever consider the possibility of an acquisition or investment market emerging for actionable copyright claims, and the advantages that such a market might hold for copyright’s goals, objectives and functioning. This Essay analyzes the opportunities and challenges presented by an independent market for copyright claims, and argues that copyright law, policy, and practice would stand to benefit from the regulated involvement of third parties in acquiring, financing, bringing, and defending infringement claims.
Keywords
copyright law, litigation funding, litigation costs
Publication Title
Columbia Law Review
Repository Citation
Balganesh, Shyamkrishna, "Copyright Infringement Markets" (2013). All Faculty Scholarship. 446.
https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_scholarship/446
Publication Citation
Columbia Law Review, Vol. 113, forthcoming 2013