the links seem to be dead
http://www.cepr.net/Afv.pdf
http://www.cepr.net/Afv.html
but i found this somewhere on the web...
>“The Artistic Freedom Voucher:
>Internet Age Alternative to Copyrights”
>by Dean Baker
>
>The Center for Economic and Policy Research
>would like to announce the release of a research
>paper entitled “The Artistic Freedom Voucher:
>Internet Age Alternative to Copyrights” by
>economist and co-director Dean Baker. The
>Artistic Freedom Voucher (AFV) is an efficient,
>realistic alternative to an antiquated copyright
>system that cannot keep up with the Internet
>Age; the AFV could potentially revolutionize the
>way in which creative artists fund their work.
>Please find the executive summary and links to
>the full papers included below.
>
>Copyrights and the AFV are alternative ways in
>which the government can support creative
>workers. The AFV is an alternative designed to
>maximize the power of individual choice, while
>working with the full potential of technology.
>Whereas the copyright system provides a
>state-enforced monopoly leading to enormous
>costs, inefficiencies and enforcement problems,
>the AFV provides a voucher system for creative
>workers that would lead to savings to consumers,
>taxpayers and the government. Lower advertising
>costs, an end to police or FBI crackdowns on
>students downloading music, and less monitoring
>by internet service providers of their customers
>are just a few examples of savings from the AFV
>system.
>
>To summarize briefly, the AFV would allow each
>adult to contribute a refundable tax credit to a
>creative worker of their choice. For example, a
>$100 voucher per adult could provide 500,000
>creative workers a salary of $40,000 a year.
>Recipients of AFV funding (artists, writers,
>musicians, singers, actors, etc.) would then
>provide their creative work to the public
>without a copyright monopoly, where the public
>could exchange, download, reproduce and enjoy
>the creative work legally, efficiently and
>inexpensively. The AFV would still allow for a
>musician to receive money for live concerts, an
>actor for performing in a play, or a writer for
>speaking at a university. The AFV is designed to
>provide a realistic alternative to copyrights
>that takes the reality of evolving technology
>into account.
>
>The full paper is available at: http://www.cepr.net/AFV.htm
>
>Or in PDF format at: http://www.cepr.net/Afv.pdf
>
>
>
>Please feel free to contact Dr. Dean Baker at
>baker at cepr.net or (202) 293-5380 ext. 229 with
>your questions or feedback. If you are
>interested in scheduling a talk or citing his
>paper, please contact Marya Murray Díaz at
>murraydiaz at cepr.net.
>
>The Center for Economic and Policy Research is
>an independent, nonpartisan think tank that was
>established to promote democratic debate on the
>most important economic and social issues that
>affect people's lives.
>
>1621 Connecticut Ave., NW Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009
>Tel: 202-293-5380 | Fax: 202-588-1356 | www.cepr.net | cepr at cepr.net
>
>Executive Summary
>
>The institution of copyrights has its origins in
>the feudal guild system. Copyrights provide an
>incentive for creative or artistic work by
>providing a state-enforced monopoly. Like any
>other monopoly, this system leads to enormous
>inefficiencies, and creates substantial
>enforcement problems. The size of these
>inefficiencies and the extent of the enforcement
>problems have increased dramatically in the
>Internet Age, as digital technology allows for
>the costless reproduction of written material,
>and recorded music and video material.
>
>The artistic freedom voucher (AFV) is an
>alternative mechanism for supporting creative
>and artistic work. It is designed to maximize
>the extent of individual choice, while taking
>full advantage of the potential created by new
>technology.
>
>The AFV would allow each individual to
>contribute a refundable tax credit of
>approximately $100 to a creative worker of their
>choice, or to an intermediary who passes funds
>along to creative workers. Recipients of the AFV
>(creative workers and intermediaries) would be
>required to register with the government in the
>same way that religious or charitable
>organizations must now register for tax-exempt
>status. This registration is only for the
>purpose of preventing fraud - it does not
>involve any evaluation of the quality of the
>work being produced.
>
>In exchange for receiving AFV support, creative
>workers would be ineligible for copyright
>protection for a significant period of time
>(e.g. five years). Copyrights and the AFV are
>alternative ways in which the government
>supports creative workers. Creative workers are
>entitled to be compensated once for their work,
>not twice. The AFV would not affect a creative
>workers ability to receive money for concerts or
>other live performances.
>
>The AFV would create a vast amount of
>uncopyrighted material. A $100 per adult voucher
>would be sufficient to pay 500,000 writers,
>musicians, singers, actors, or other creative
>workers $40,000 a year. All of the material
>produced by these workers would be placed in the
>public domain where it could be freely
>reproduced.
>
>Under plausible assumptions, the savings from
>reduced expenditures on copyrighted material
>would vastly exceed the cost of the AFV. Much of
>this savings would be the direct result of
>individuals' decisions to use AFV supported
>music, movies, writings and other creative work
>in place of copyright-protected work. A second
>source of savings would be the result of lower
>advertising costs, since much of the material
>used in advertising supported media would be in
>the public domain.
>
>In contrast to copyright protection, which
>requires restrictions on the use of digital
>technology, the AFV would allow for the full
>potential of this technology to be realized.
>Creative workers would benefit most when their
>material was as widely distributed as possible.
>They would therefore have incentives to promote
>technologies that allow for recorded music,
>video, and written material to be transferred as
>easily as possible. By contrast, copyright
>enforcement is demanding ever greater levels of
>repression (e.g. restriction on publishing
>software codes, tracking computer use, and
>getting records from Internet service providers)
>in order to prevent the unauthorized
>reproduction of copyrighted material. The police
>crackdowns on unauthorized copying by college
>students, and even elementary school kids, would
>be completely unnecessary for work supported by
>the AFV.
>
>
>Marya Murray Diaz
>Outreach Coordinator
>Center for Economic and Policy Research
>1621 Connecticut Ave., NW Suite 500
>Washington, DC 20009
>(202) 293-5380 ext. 208
>fax: (202) 588-1356
>murraydiaz at cepr.net
>
> |
