New Paper on Alternative Compensation Systems

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Subject: New Paper on Alternative Compensation Systems
From: Joseph Gratz <>
Date: Sat, 20 Dec 2003 15:53:12 -0600
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Folks,

I'm interested in comments on a paper I wrote recently on alternative compensation system proposals. I review the Fisher, Netanel, and Litman proposals, then make a proposal of my own. I believe that my proposal, though more limited in scope than the others, is technically feasible, economically sound, and does not require modifications to international agreements to which the United States is a party.

In short, I propose an "opt-in" system which is limited to noncommercial use of music. Copyright holders will be encouraged to opt in by a large compensation pool and a partial repeal of section 1201. Popularity will be measured based on what files are shared by users. The money will be distributed to copyright holders according to a formula given in the paper, which bases popularity on the number of times peers offer a song for download, correcting for the size of peers' music collections so that people with more music don't get more votes.

The paper is available in PDF format at:

http://www.joegratz.net/files/JosephGratz-ReformInTheBraveKingdom-Dec19.pdf

I look forward to your comments.

Sincerely,

Joe Gratz
2L, University of Minnesota Law School
www.joegratz.net