The Economics of Peer-to-Peer

Alain Bourdeau Fontenay, Eric Bourdeau Fontenay and Lorenzo Maria Pupillo
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Alain Bourdeau Fontenay: Columbia University
Eric Bourdeau Fontenay: MusicDish LCC
Lorenzo Maria Pupillo: Telecom Italia

Chapter 3 in Peer-to-Peer Video, 2008, pp 43-91 from Springer

Abstract: Peer-to-Peer networks boast three characteristics that make them unique. First, they are layered networks conceived and operating in a similar fashion to the Internet. Second, they are completely decentralized, making servers of individual computers at the Peer-to-Peer layer, and acting in the way an ISP acts at the Internet IP layer. Finally, Peer-to-Peer networks are made up of the resources that individual members make available when they use their Peer-to-Peer networks.1 These networks, which were initially used by individuals to share and download content, including a significant amount of copyright material such as music, are now increasingly used for downloading games, videos, and software. In this paper, we focus on the economics of Peer-to-Peer in terms of the impact that Peer-to-Peer innovation is having on the content sector, especially on copyrighted material, and on how the latter has in turn influenced Peer-to-Peer networks. Peer-to-Peer technology makes a server of endusers. In addition, while Peer-to-Peer network service providers may retain some control over their own networks, this control is effectively restricted to the Peer-to-Peer layer as a pure transport and file-sharing layer, and is independent of the content that is shared, at least in the post-Napster era.

Keywords: Transaction Cost; Technological Change; Market Failure; Content Owner; Copyright Owner (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-0-387-76450-4_3

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DOI: 10.1007/978-0-387-76450-4_3

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