Digital Piracy in BRICS and Developed Economies: A Comparative Study of Psychological, Sociological and Cultural Factors
This research project attempted to study the behavioral, cultural and social aspects that factor into digital piracy. As evidenced from the title; psychologists, sociologists and political scientists have studied the rationale and motivations behind digital piracy, mostly in developed economies. Studies show that the act of piracy can be attributed to the way certain cultures view intellectual property (collectivist vs. individualist) and other cultural variables like power distance or masculinity. However, there exists a dearth of such research in developing countries. This project would attempt to look beyond the existing legal structure and at lesser-acknowledged psychological, sociological and cultural factors.
drspsahni@jgu.edu.in
igupta@jgu.edu.in
Garima Jain
garima2jain@gmail.com
Research Findings
The data collection phase, which includes qualitative and quantitative research, have been initiated. At this stage, our sample size in India is 1000 for the questionnaires and 100 for the interviews. The interviews will follow a semi-structured format and the key respondents will all be stakeholders’/policy makers spanning the software,music,film and gaming industries along with government bodies and lawyers. We are also working with an institution in Spain (Universidad Pontificia Comillas ICAI-ICADE), which has agreed to collect data,given a sample size of roughly 500-1000 questionnaires and 10-20 interviews.
Outcomes of the Project
A book titled ‘Piracy in the Digital Era’ by Dr. Sanjeev P Sahni & Dr. Indranath Gupta was published by Springer Publications in 2019.
Gupta, I. & Lakhani, S. (2019). Data Protection & Privacy Landscape in India. BILETA Aberdeen 2019, University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom, 16-17 April, 2019
Sahni, S. P., Gupta, I. & Lakhani, S. (2018). Digital Piracy in India: Lack of Awareness Factor. Re-Imagining Intellectual Property, University of Exeter, United Kingdom, 16– 17 April, 2018.
Sahni, S. P., Gupta, I. & Lakhani, S. (2018). Digital Piracy in India: Lack of Awareness Factor. BILETA Aberdeen 2018, University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom, 10 – 11 April, 2018.
Sahni, S. & Jain, G. (2017). Digital Piracy: Understanding Psycho-social & Cultural Factors. 26th session of Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Vienna, Austria, 22-26 May, 2017.
Swasthi, S. (2017). Digital Piracy: Morality & Ethical Predisposition. 26th session of Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Vienna, Austria, 22-26 May, 2017.
Sahni, S. P., Gupta, I. & Biswas, A. (2016). Digital piracy in India: The myth of socio-economic factors leading to piracy. 7th International Conference on Information Law and Ethics : Broadening the Horizons of Information Law and Ethics – A Time for Inclusion, Pretoria, South Africa, 22-23 February, 2016.
Sahni, S.P., Gupta, I. & Jain, G. (2015). Digital Piracy: An Indian example of the complexities. Cyber Deviance Cyber Crime: A Revolution in Socio- Legal Norms, Onati International Institute for Sociology of Law, Onati, Spain, 15 May 2015.