Le droit d'auteur, incitation à la création ou frein à la diffusion ?. Une analyse empirique du cas de la création télévisuelle

The article analyzes the two contrasted effects of copyright usually highlighted by the economic literature: incentives to create, but barriers to diffusion, in the case of the TV industry, which is a specific area, more industrialized than other cultural industries. A survey of 468 author?s earnings on 196 fictions broadcasted on the five main French TV channels for three periods (1995-1996, 2000-2001, 2003-2004) shows that the objectives usually assigned to intellectual property rights are not fulfilled. First, incentives to create seem weak : the average reward by author and by work fells over the period, and is only paid as a flat sum regardless of the success of works, at a time when their cost is constantly growing and new types of media and broadcasting opportunities are becoming available. Second, copyright does not ensure an adequate risk sharing between authors and producers. The study also underlines that the legislation of TV copyright does not provide a favourable environment to the diffusion of fictions. Moreover, the regulatory framework is used as a tool for reducing the costs of employment.