U.S. Legislators, World Renowned Creators and Creative Industry Leaders to Address Need for Global Collaboration at World Copyright Summit

Washington, D.C. (June 10, 2009) - CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) today continues the second World Copyright Summit: New Frontiers for Creators in the Marketplace. The second day of the program focuses on finding common ground and new revenue streams on which to build the future of creative industries.

The day’s activities open with Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who will outline the importance of appropriate copyright protection and discuss how the U.S. can serve as a model in providing legislation that responds to the challenges of the digital era while respecting the protection of privacy rights and freedom of speech on the internet. "The digital world brings with it the perils of piracy for content owners, but it also opens new business models and new opportunities for creators to reach consumers," asserts Senator Leahy.

During the lunch keynote, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. will address the need for proper IP legislation to facilitate and sustain long-term economic development. In the afternoon, Assemblyman Dr. Yong-Kyung Lee, former President and CEO of Korea telecom, will discuss the South Korean approach to the digital future.

Today’s program features representatives from the creative arts, including U.S. film director, Milos Forman; Mozambique singer/songwriter Lizha James; and legendary singer and songwriter from the Bee Gees and President of CISAC, Robin Gibb.

"Copyright is not a barrier to progress," asserts Gibb. "On the contrary, copyright is an incentive to creativity. It is a facilitator of progress, creativity and communication. The existence of strong copyright will not stifle the development of the digital utopia which Google and others promise. Copyright will promote such development. Without copyright you have chaos and this is a far greater barrier to progress."

Today’s program also features the following industry leaders: senior vice president for corporate development and chief legal officer of Google, David C. Drummond; Consumer Electronics Association President and CEO Gary Shapiro; National Music Publishers Association President and CEO David Israelite; Marybeth Peters, the U.S. Register of Copyrights; senior vice president and group general counsel of The World Bank, Anne-Marie Leroy; chairman and CEO of EMI Music Publishing, Roger Faxon; global director music business affairs of Nokia, Sami Valkonen; and others representing Bowker; DCIA (Distributed Computing Industry Association); DGA (Directors Guild of America); IFPI; Microsoft; MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America); NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association); PlayLouder; peermusic; RealNetwork; Sony/ATV Music Publishing; Time Warner; UK Music; Warner/Chappell Music and the WIPO (Worldwide Intellectual Property Organization).

These industry leaders will debate with CEOs of creators’ rights organizations from all over the world (Brazil, France, Finland, Japan, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, The Netherlands, U.K. and the U.S.).

Day two of the World Copyright Summit focuses on the need for global collaboration in addressing the challenges of creative industries in the digital era. Today’s discussion topics include:

• Scenarios for the future relationship between rights owners, ISPs and digital service providers
• Finding new revenue streams to finance the creative industries
• Intellectual property rights as a driver of global economic growth
• The global climate for copyright protection
• Balancing fair compensation of creators and consumer access
• Update on the European online licensing landscape
• Successful campaigns in promoting the value of copyright
• The benefits of smart metadata and copyright management information

The 2009 World Copyright Summit is organized by CISAC and supported by rights organizations and numerous partner organizations. The Copyright Summit Advisory Committee includes CISAC members in the United States: AMRA (American Mechanical Rights Agency); ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers); BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.); NMPA (National Music Publishers’ Association); SESAC; DGA (Directors Guild of America); WGA (Writers Guild of America); ARS (Artists Rights Society); VAGA (Visual Artists and Galleries Association); and The Authors Registry for literary rights.

For more information about CISAC’s World Copyright Summit, detailed conference program and updates on today’s roundtables, please visit www.copyrightsummit.com.

About CISAC, the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers
CISAC aims to increase both the recognition and protection of creators’ rights worldwide. In a global and digital world, CISAC’s main missions are to reinforce the international network of copyright societies, to be the spokesperson for creators and their societies in all international debates and to reassert authors’ inalienable right to live by their creative work. With a membership of 222 authors’ societies in 118 countries, CISAC is an international NGO and represents more than 2.5 million creators and publishers of artistic works in all genres including music, audiovisual, drama, literature, photography and the visual arts. In 2007, the royalties collected by CISAC's member societies in their respective territories topped $9.7 billion (7.141€).
For more information, please visit www.cisac.org

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Media Contact

Kaci Farrell, APCO Worldwide
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Marianne Rollet, CISAC
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Adeline Deliau, Aspect
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