Turns the aff---longer copyright protections in the status quo prevent innovation at full capacity and hinder revenues.

There is a widely held belief that a longer duration in copyrights ensures higher earnings for authors. In emphasizing the critical role of authors, this paper argues that a longer duration with private contracts hinders an increase in the revenues from works, hence the earnings of authors. This is because the very limited bargaining power of authors and the principal-agent dilemma induce publishers to be structurally under-performing – that is, not effective enough at optimizing (or maximizing) the full cultural potential of the works they are responsible for.

As a solution, this paper suggests that, if well designed, a shortened copyright duration will clearly bring benefits to the vast majority of authors as well as society. This shortened duration induces publishers to develop more impactful business activities coupled with effective strategies in order to maximize the utilization of contracted works. Furthermore, authors can benefit from the reputational earnings of their works that enter the public domain much earlier than under the current system. More activities under the public domain period will allow authors to be more at the center of the industrial chain. They will also be able to concentrate on their creation without any fear of copyright infringement. Another benefit is that due to the earlier public domain period, many works that are not too outdated will become more readily available. In such a case, this availability would inspire authors to produce better works. Through various measures such as internet platforms and media outlets, they can be diffused faster and wider than before. Therefore, this system can contribute toward enhancing cultural creativity and diversity.

Some might argue that digitization has ruined a number of cultural industries as internet piracy and copyright infringement have been more prevalent than before. As this paper places these issues related to digitization, technological advancements, and their impact aside, they can be further analyzed in order to draw important implications that can be applicable during this period. In this regard, several real-world examples such as the emergence of Netflix or even the Korean music industry with K-pop can hint at ways to overcome copyright issues in the era of digitization (Parc and Kawashima Citation2018; Parc and Kim Citation2020). This task can be synergistically undertaken by utilizing and applying the findings of this paper.

There is no doubt that culture and its diversity should be protected and preserved. Culture consists of tradition and modernity in terms of the period in which it was developed. In other words, they can be described as either ‘accumulated’ or ‘accumulable’ heritages (Parc and Moon Citation2019). Surely, these accumulated heritages were once accumulable ones and have survived over time while being very prosperous. In our time, the value of the past shines on the presence of an accumulated heritage. If we are thinking about the future as well as the present, the value of accumulable heritages should not be neglected. In this regard, the role of copyrights is very critical. Without much restriction such as a long duration of copyrights, they can further promote prosperity and the wider availability of accumulable cultural contents which will be part of accumulated culture later.