Lobbying and lawmaking in the European Union : the development of copyright law and the rejection of the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement

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Farrand, Benjamin (2015) Lobbying and lawmaking in the European Union : the development of copyright law and the rejection of the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies. pp. 1-28. (https://doi.org/10.1093/ojls/gqu028)

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Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine the issue of ‘lobbying’ in the EU legislative process, using an interdisciplinary analysis of the development of copyright laws as a way of explaining why some lobbyists are more successful than others in having their preferences taken into account in legislation, and how this success is achieved. As this article will demonstrate, the keys to successful lobbying in this field are information exchange, the ability to frame issues at an early stage in the legislative process (agenda setting), and the political salience of an issue. By assessing not only where legislative initiatives in copyright reform have been successful, such as the passing of the Information Society, Enforcement and Term Extension Directives, but also where legislative initiatives fail, as in the case of ACTA, it will be demonstrated that legislative success is not a simple case of ‘big business getting what it wants’, but of varying levels of political salience. Where the salience of an issue is low and voters consider that issue comparatively unimportant to other issues, industry representatives are able to effectively frame legislative outcomes. Where salience is high, and an issue important to voters, this ability is substantially reduced. By approaching copyright law development in this way, it is possible to reconceptualise the role of lobbying in the EU legislative process.

  • Item type:Article
    ID code:50043
    Dates:
    Date
    Event
    2015
    Published
    20 January 2015
    Published Online
    25 September 2014
    Accepted
    Notes:This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Oxford Journal of Legal Studies following peer review. The version of record [insert complete citation information here] is available online at: 10.1093/ojls/gqu028 that the author will receive upon publication here
    Subjects:Law > Europe
    Department:Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) > Strathclyde Law School > Law
    Depositing user: Pure Administrator
    Date deposited:27 Oct 2014 12:40
    Last modified:16 Dec 2024 01:32
    Related URLs:
    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/50043
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