Bettig, R. V. (1996). Copyrighting Culture. The Political Economy of Intellectual Property. Boulder: Westview Press.
Introduction to the Political Economy of Intellectual Property
The political-economic theory of communications has already made a significant contribution to our understanding of mass communications and society. Denis McQuail identified three prominent trends in media business and technology that have greatly increased its pertinence in the current age: the concentration of media systems into the hands of a few transnational corporations; the expansion of the “information economy” and the convergence of technologies; and the decline of public control over communications systems. 1 With its focus on institutional structures and practices, the political economy of communications is poised to help explain the forces driving these processes and to offer up predictions about their implications.
