Copy-protection policies and profitability

Abstract

This paper examines the publisher's optimal copy-protection policies. Even if copying is more cost-efficient than producing an original, private copying harms the publisher for two reasons. First, the copy users’ contribution to the original's price is too small, and second, there is a time lag between providing the original and distributing copies. If and only if both production costs of copies and institutional costs of the distribution of copies are sufficiently small; does controlling the number of copies benefit the publisher. However, the publisher's optimal number of copies is too low from a social welfare perspective.