TRU 51 of regional pricing

The Digital Media Project
Source	Philip Merrill
Title	TRU #51 of regional pricing	No.	040929merrill03

Name:	Philip Merrill
Affiliation/additional information:	Active Contributor, Pasadena, California
Date submitted:	2004/09/29

#	Criteria	Description
1.	Name of TRU	TRU of regional pricing
2.	Summary description of TRU	authorisation to determine regional pricing schemes has commonly been delegated by creators and also Middle-Men to regional distributors by contractual agreement, however this long-term practice for physical goods is threatened by digital distribution over the Internet
3.	Use records of TRU	Regional pricing schemes are extremely common but also potentially fragile. The regional market is the primary contributor to the amount of money that is "all the traffic will bear", and since sellers are most interested in the bottom line of total profits, prices are likely to be carefully adjusted -- down if that leads to a significant increase in sales or up if a higher price can lead to greater revenues. Although a monopoly position or an "exclusive" distribution deal can lead to the ability to charge higher prices, this can also trigger regulation by Public Authorities. If a market is thriving, increased competition is likely on its way, including illegal competition of various kinds such as counterfeits or illegally sourced product (i.e., legitimate goods obtained from regions forbidden by regulation where prices are lower).
4.	Nature of TRU	Generally this TRU can be considered a specific instance of TRU contractual commerce. Detailed legal specifics are more likely to be restrictions on this TRU rather than grants. It is given separate treatment because it is commonly essential to profitability.
5.	Benefits of TRU	Authors/Rights-Holders and Middle-Men
6.	Possible digital support	Although the key element for this is location-based Rights Expression conditions, it is likely that support for this TRU will be of legislative and regulatory interest. For example, the boundaries of a pricing region could be required to coincide with those of one or several sovereign nations, or there might be restrictions on granularity for certain categories of product so that those living in distinctive neighborhoods are not unduly discriminated against. An interesting analogue element of this TRU is the right to seize contraband or counterfeit goods, and an analogous function could be supported in the digital space.
7.	Requirements	location-based Rights Expression conditions