Copyright and the Economic Effects of Parody : An Empirical Study of Music Videos on the Youtube Platform and an Assessment of the Regulatory Options

The status of parody and related derivative works within the UK copyright framework lacks clarity and has been recommended for further policy study in two recent independent reviews: the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property in 2006 and the more recent Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property and Growth published in 2011. The review documents highlight the dual importance of parodic works both as a form of cultural expression and as a potential source of innovation and growth. A key recommendation made by Hargreaves is that the Government create a new fair dealing copyright exception for parody. However, a shortage of empirical data renders policy intervention in this area difficult. The issue is complicated by the inherently creative nature of parody, ambiguity about its definition and the multiplicity of economic and legal approaches that may be applied. This document reports the key findings from two complementary studies carried out by the researcher team. Study I presents new empirical data about the rate and nature of parody content production on the online video platform YouTube, and its impact on commercial exploitation of original works where they can be considered to be part of the same market. Study II examines regulatory options for a parody exception from a comparative review of seven jurisdictions. Conclusions and recommendations are proposed