This book examines the relationship between the legal extension of copyright duration as an enduring means of copyright protection and the growth of the UK book publishing industry as a typical creative industry reliant on copyright. The book draws on Schumpeter’s theory of creative destruction to analyse the implications of copyright law and policy on the book industry and illustrate the dynamic interaction between copyright expansion and the growth of the creative industries. The book reviews the historical development of UK copyright expansion and also considers copyright in the digital age. It explores the legal and economic concerns about copyright protection in general, and the expansion of copyright duration in particular. Using an innovative empirical method, it explores whether the expansion of the duration of copyright promotes or precludes the growth of book publishing industry. It goes on to suggest changes to copyright policy which would have an impact on the economics of innovation in the creative industries.

This book will be of particular interst to scholars and students of Intellectual Property Law.