Background

It's pretty obvious that copyright law has an effect on the amount of art produced in a culture. However, people don't agree on what the best system is.

Some people believe that no copyrights would be best because it would remove the corruption that exists around art and make it pure and good.

Some people believe that long and strict copyrights are necessary for it to be worth anybody to produce art, because without the long-term protection it wouldn't be worth the effort to create anything of value.

Other people belive something in between: a moderate copyright term so that artists are compensated, but the culture can still benefit from the creations.

I personally believe that the best system is one in which copyright cartels cannot exist. A copyright cartel is a virtual-monopoly like the RIAA and MPAA which "own" a whole bunch of artists and their copyrights. They use their massive resources to maintain their pseudo-monopoly on the market -- nobody can compete with them because they force record stores to sell only their albums. As a result, they can get away with ridiculous royalties (giving the artist 5% of each CD sale.)

The Simulator

I've had enough of the endless debates about what system is better. I propose that we create a simulator that abstracts away the essence of a marketplace that exists around people creating art and lets you test out how well it produces the art given different regulations.

Agents in the simulation

The Idea Thief

This person just rips off other people's creations and markets them as his own for fame and profit. (Historical example: Marconi ripping off Tesla)

The Starving Artist

An artist who cares for nothing but his craft. This person's output will be maximized by giving them enough food and water.

The Diva

This person is motivated by fame. All they care about is being popular.

The Average Artist

This artist likes his craft, but won't be able to produce if he has to work a 9-5 day job.

The Business Tycoon

This person wants everybody's money, and will stop at nothing to get it. They do this by standing on the backs of as many labourers as possible.

The Law Passers

These people are easily swayed by money. They'll change copyright law to help out the Business Tycoon.

The Public

These are the consumers of the art. Some of them are rabid fans, some of them are rabid slackers, some of them are likely to pay an artist if they really like them but most of the time they can't be bothered, etc. These people should also be simulated.