Economist Dean Baker: The idea of alternatives to copyright should not sound strange. There already is a vast amount of work supported through universities, private foundations and different levels of government…

One route would be to allow individuals a modest refundable tax credit - an artistic freedom voucher (AFV) - that would allow them to give $75-$100 a year to support creative work. This money could either go directly to the worker or to an intermediary that supports specific types of creative work (e.g. an intermediary may finance action films, jazz music or mystery novels).

To be eligible to receive money through this system, a creative worker would have to register with the IRS in much the same way as a tax exempt charity or nonprofit registers. They would have to give basic information about what it is they do, just as a charity for feeding the homeless or the Heritage Foundation think tank must do to get and keep their nonprofit status.

The IRS would not evaluate the quality of the work; it would simply have the ability to verify that a registered worker actually engages in the type of work claimed. It would also be desirable to require some minimal level of funds to be a recipient, like $1,000 a year per worker or organization, to prevent some of the most obvious ways to game the system.

The other condition for receiving the money is that the person would be ineligible for copyright protection for a substantial period of time (e.g. five  years) after collecting money through the AFV system.