Cc-uk mailing list

["Steve Braund" <sam.shemtob AT musictank.co.uk>]

Title: CC central to MusicTank Copyright Conference

Dear Creative Commons List,

I'm writing to let your membership know about the upcoming UK Copyright Conference on November 10th: "Copyright Review: Getting The Rights Balance", organised by MusicTank, the UK's music business network.

Earlier this year MusicTank were involved in the organistaion of an event dedicated to CC issues and featuring a keynote by Paula Le Dieu,  Director, Creative Commons International, as well as discussion by Damian Tambini, Creative Commons UK.

With the DTI, DCMS, Patent Office, European Commission, IPPR and RSA all reviewing intellectual property, this latest event will draw together some of the best brains from the music business and beyond to re-assess the ongoing role of copyright in the creative economy.

CC experts attending will include:

Cory Doctorow, European Affairs Coordinator for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and best-selling novelist whose books are published through a traditional publisher and simultaneously released as free downloads under a Creative Commons license.

Rufus Pollock, Director and co-founder of the Open Knowledge Foundation, member of Creative Commons UK and a country coordinator for the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure.

Keynote speakers are: Peter Jamieson, BPI Chairman, Emma Pike, Director General of British Music Rights, and Prof. Martin Kretschmer, Bournemouth University.

Full details below and at www.musictank.co.uk

Best,

Steve.
--
Steve Braund
Name
Watford road | Harrow | Middlesex | HA1 3TP
T +44 (0) 20 8357 7305 | M +44 (0) 79631 70251 | F +44 (0) 208 357 7326
E steve AT namemusic.co.uk

BPI Chairman Joins Keynote Speakers at MusicTank Copyright Conference

Peter Jamieson, Chairman of the BPI, will open the panel discussions at “Copyright Review: Getting The Rights Balance” with a keynote speech delineating the key issues surrounding copyright term review.

He joins fellow keynote speakers, Emma Pike, Director General of British Music Rights and Co-Chairman of the Music Business Forum, and Professor Martin Kretschmer*, Joint Director, Centre for Intellectual Property Policy & Management, Bournemouth University, who will together open up the conference with two broad keynotes about copyright. 

*Professor Kretschmer has authored dozens of papers addressing different aspects of intellectual property as well as developing postgraduate degree programmes on the subject.

Copyright Review: Getting the Rights Balance – 10^th November 2005 @ The Foreign Press Association, London SW1

In a digital age where sharing music has become easier than ever before, artists, industry and general public alike are increasingly questioning the purpose, use, and limitations of copyright.

Sparks will fly across three panels as experts from all sides of the industry, academia and the legal profession argue their corners on key current copyright issues, including term review, the management of file-sharing and copying licenses, and the changing face of copyright in the US.

The panels are:

1) Copyright Term In Sound Recordings: To Be Continued?

2) Copyright Stateside: Has The US Got It Right?

3) Private Copying, P2P And Beyond: New Laws For A New Era
(Further details below on all panels)

The list of panel speakers includes:

Darrell Panethiere – Chief Counsel for Intellectual Property for the US Senate, responsible for all copyright, trademark, and patent bills considered by the Senate (1989-1995), legal advisor to IFPI member companies on copyright law (1995-1999), Vice President, Legal & Business Affairs Warner Music International (1999-2004), now leading consultant, Legal and Business Affairs, FosterCraig Ltd.

Cory Doctorow – European Affairs Coordinator working on international standards and treaties related to copyright for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff.org) a non-governmental organisation that working to uphold the public interest in technology law, standards, treaties and policy. Best-selling novelist whose books are published through a traditional publisher and simultaneously released as free downloads under a Creative Commons license.

Paul Hitchman – Co-Founder and Managing Director of licensed P2P company Playlouder MSP.

Alexander Ross – A partner at specialist law firm Wiggin & Co.

Peter Jenner – Sincere Management, chairman of the IMMF, a director of the UK MMF (Music Managers' Forum), former manager of Pink Floyd, manager of Billy Bragg.

David Stopps – Artist manager, FML Music and Council Member of the MMF. Represented the MMF at the British Copyright Council.

Horace Trubridge – Assistant General Secretary, Musicians’ Union.

Steve Greenfield – Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Westminster, and published author with 10 years experience teaching entertainment law, including issues of technology, copyright and ownership.

Rufus Pollock – Director and Co-Founder of the Open Knowledge Foundation, country coordinator for the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure and vocal member of Creative Commons UK.

Gina Harkell – Jazz artist sued for her son’s copyright infringement.

To be joined by a representative from PPL.

(Full biogs: www.musictank.co.uk/events_copyright_conf.htm )

Each panel in this half-day conference will analyse specific examples where copyright breeds controversy and ask what improvements are necessary to promote a fair balance between the interests of industry, artists and music-loving public:

1) Copyright Term In Sound Recordings: To Be Continued?
Should we alter our copyright laws to be more in line with America’s 95 year term, reducing their trade advantage? Will a longer term result in more lost catalogue or is that anathema in a digital age?  Could this be the perfect moment for Europe to lobby the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) to synchronise copyright term across all jurisdictions? Or does harmonisation of copyright term remain nothing more than a utopian dream?

A panel including Peter Jamieson, Cory Doctorow, Rufus Pollock and a prominent member of the Music Managers’ Forum will consider these questions and more surrounding the ongoing issue of copyright term.

2) Copyright Stateside: Has The US Got It Right?

The DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 1998) made it illegal to circumvent manufacturer-imposed usage limitations on CDs, DVDs and video games, including copy protection. Does this impinge on the US public’s right to make personal copies of CDs? And has this given companies too much power to tie certain DVDs and games to certain uses on certain machines?

Meanwhile, the “Bars and Grills” exception, introduced the same year, made 70% of bars and restaurants and 40% of shops and boutiques exempt from paying performance royalties to songwriters whose music they are playing over radio or TV, depriving them of a substantial chunk of income. 

And what of the lack of a performing right for record labels and performers in the USA?  Does the US copyright framework tip the balance too far away from the interests of artists and consumers? What bearing, if any, do such developments have on the UK, and on the desired outcomes of EC copyright review?

A panel including Darrell Panethiere, Peter Jenner and an esteemed representative from PPL will consider whether these laws tip the balance too far away from the interests of artists and consumers in order to promote the interests of US big business. The panel will also discuss what bearing, if any, such developments have on the UK, and on the desired outcomes of EC copyright review.

3) Private Copying, P2P And Beyond: New Laws For A New Era
The recent ruling against Grokster outlawed applications that promote illegal file-sharing for profit but will this apply to non-profit applications like BitTorrent? Are there viable ways to bring P2P into the fold and make these networks legal?  Can the industry grasp the fresh opportunities for income offered by podcasting and digital radio? And, with the transfer of bought CDs to computer and MP3 player becoming commonplace, is it time for the UK to introduce a fair use rule?

The final panel will consist of Paul Hitchman, Horace Trubridge, Steve Greenfield, Gina Harkell and Alexander Ross.

(Full Panel Outlines at: http://www.musictank.co.uk/events_copyright_conf.htm )

These three central debates will be followed by a summary session which will assess possible solutions to the issues raised.

While ultimate consensus may remain elusive the aim of the conference is to shed light on the oft-misunderstood role of copyright and initiate an educated discussion of the desired balance in copyright law between the protection of the artist, the social freedoms of the public, and the interest of rights-holding companies.

For more information visit:

http://www.musictank.co.uk

Further Information:

Event Details:

Event Title:    Copyright Review: Getting the Rights Balance

Date:           Thursday, 10^th November 2005

Time:           12:45 – 18:30

Venue:  Music Room, The Foreign Press Association, 11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AJ.

Tubes:  Piccadilly Circus - Piccadilly & Bakerloo lines
                Charing Cross - Northern & Bakerloo lines

Price:          £68 + VAT (£79.90) 
                (All places MUST be booked and paid for in advance)