“Fair Compensation” in the Digital Age: Realigning the Audio Home Recording Act

Authors

Monica Zhang

Abstract

This note examines how the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 falls short of providing “fair compensation” due to copyright owners in the digital age under the Copyright Act. The note focuses on the narrow language of the statute and the impact on royalties generated, as well as the shifts in global music consumption that reveal a pressing need for expansion. By examining how Canada and Finland have enacted similar statutes with forward-looking royalty structures, this note suggests better alternatives to our current model by expanding the royalty-bearing pool to truly provide “fair compensation” to recording artists and record labels for the loss of income due to the ease of infringement aided by the development of digital technology.

Recommended Citation

Monica Zhang, “Fair Compensation” in the Digital Age: Realigning the Audio Home Recording Act, 38 UC Law SF Comm. & Ent. L.J. 145 (2015).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_comm_ent_law_journal/vol38/iss1/6