ABSTRACT
Technological advances in communications have prompted a reexamination of the property rights that evolved after the introduction of the printing press. Conflict has accompanied the attempt to bring copyright legislation up to date, since the determination of property rights affects income distribution as well as efficiency. Harold Demsetz's theory that property rights emerge in response to new benefit-cost possibilities is partially confirmed in the application of his analysis to copyright law: the internalization of externalities, legitimacy, liability, and other aspects of his theoretical framework have empirical counterparts. However, Demsetz's neglect of the role of conflict in determining the form and efficiency of property rights is evident in three current problems in copyright law affecting educators: television, reprography, and computers. The appearance of cheap reprographic techniques such as xerography has resulted in no such consensus today. Publishers are concerned about their markets being affected by the wide use of cheap reprographic devices.
