The 2013 World Creators Summit got off to a great start on 4 June at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. The fourth biennial event, organized by CISAC (the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) and supported by numerous organizations around the world, is the leading international and cross-industry forum addressing the future of copyright, the creative community, and the entertainment business in the digital economy.
Day 1 speakers covered a diverse array of topics such as intellectual property in the digital age, perspectives on the future of the creative sector, access to film and TV shows online, the business of digital books, fair deals for photographers, the role of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), orphan works, rights management, and the US copyright agenda. Highlights included:
Kenth Muldin, chairman of the CISAC board of directors, opened the Summit, stating, “Creators are our raison d’?tre as societies, but they are also the most important drivers of the digital economy. […] if we want to question the future of our businesses, we have to start with the foundations and with the creators.”
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Victoria Espinel, US Intellectual Property enforcement coordinator for the White House, delivered the opening keynote, titled “Visions for the Future – Intellectual Property in the Digital Age,” saying that “We believe that if we target infringement using a variety of approaches and tools at the same time we can make some headway and reduce infringement online and protect the creativity that our artists and artists around the world create while supporting the benefits the Internet creates.”
Maria Pallante, US register of copyrights, explained which aspects of copyright law need attention and reaffirmed the importance of an effective copyright system for authors during her keynote, titled “The US Agenda – The Perspective from the US Copyright Office.” “Copyright law has served the United States and the world extremely well—from printing press to digital revolution,” she said. “We owe it to the next generation of creators and innovators, and the public, to plan for the future, as you are doing here.”
Stanford McCoy, assistant US Trade Representative for Intellectual Property and Innovation, discussed “Visions for the Future – IP and the Creative Industries in a Global Environment” during his keynote speech.
“Capturing the value inherent in intangible assets like creativity, innovation, and reputation requires a strong and well-calibrated rule-of-law infrastructure that allows those assets to be officially recognized, licensed, and protected against theft or other misappropriation,” he said. “Intellectual property rights are critical to that rule of law infrastructure.”
Hervé Di Rosa, a visual artist and president of CISAC; Angélique Kidjo, a songwriter and performer; and Jacques Fansten, a film director, screenwriter, producer, and president of SACD spoke during the “Visions for the Future – Creators in the Digital Age” panel. Kidjo began the conversation by stating, “Creative rights are the key to innovation, ” with Fansten clarifying that “A ‘work’ is not simply a creative contribution, it is a view of the world; someone somewhere talks to the people around them and shares their vision of the world.” Di Rosa then expressed his support for the artist resale right royalty, stating, “I believe if we go in the US and manage to have the resale right adopted and operational, it would be a wonderful showcase for the rest of world.”
Simon Raymonde, songwriter, performer and producer for Cocteau Twins and founder of Bella Union, participated in the “Connecting Creators and Consumers” panel, where he voiced his opposition to remix culture. “As a musician, I cannot imagine anything more awful than this!” he said.
Scott Turow, a global best-selling author, lawyer, and president of The Authors’ Guild, offered his views on the US copyright agenda during the “The US Agenda – The Perspective from the Creators” panel. “Best-selling authors will do just fine if publishing is destroyed,” said Turow, but mid-list and new authors will continue to suffer.
Members of the US House of Representatives Bob Goodlatte (Chair of the Judiciary Committee) and Anna G Eshoo debated US copyright policy and provided an insider’s look at the legislative status of differing approaches during the “The US Agenda – The US Bi-Partisan Policies on Copyright” panel. “If you want to benefit from the content you have to protect it !” said Goodlatte. Eshoo countered that “Silicon Valley understands an open internet needs to be protected, and how it can enhance creativity.”
The agenda also included:
.”Visions for the Future – Different Perspectives for the Creative Sector”
.”Accessing Films and TV Programs Online”
.”Who Benefits from the Business of Digital Books?”
.”Can Photographers Get Fair Deals?”
.”BRICS – What Role Can They Play in the Digital Economy?”
.”Orphan Works – Balancing Access and Creators’ Rights”
.”Technologies & Services for Rights Management of On-Demand Digital Video Content”
.”Consumers and Creators in a Dialogue”
.”The US Agenda – Time for an Overhaul of Copyright Laws?”
In total, more than 140 speakers will address over 750 delegates from 75+ countries during the Summit.
