Press Release 22 June 2009

"Copyright Protection Crucial for Creative Industries’  Future"

CISAC’s International forum brought together creators, rights  organizations and guilds,policymakers, content service providers,  broadcasters, telecommunications operators,hardware manufacturers and  legal experts to debate the future of copyright and thedistribution of  creative works in digital era - View the debates online!

Washington, D.C. (June 22, 2009) - Creators gathered at the second World  Copyright Summit, on
June 9 and 10 in Washington DC, asked for  stronger copyright legislation and protection aroundthe world to ensure  the future of the creative industries.

CISAC’s President Robin Gibb, of the legendary Bee Gees,  opened and wrapped up the
Summit reminding that, "Copyright  is NOT a barrier. It is a facilitator of progress, creativityand  communication. The existence of strong copyright will not stifle the  development of thedigital utopia which Google, Microsoft and others  promise. Copyright will promote suchdevelopment. Without copyright you  have chaos and this is a far greater barrier to progress."

"If we cripple our culture we are crippling the heart and soul  of our society. That is whycopyright protection for those who create  is so important." added Oscar-winning U.S. filmdirector, Milos  Forman, in a passionate speech denouncing online piracy. "Pirates  seethemselves as modern-day Robin-Hoods ... They are in fact stealing  from thousands andthousands of regular, many of them poor, people around  the world, who depend on the creativeindustries for their livelihood."

The World Copyright Summit was organized by CISAC (International  Confederation of Societiesof Authors and Composers) on June 9 and 10,  2009 at the Ronald Reagan Center in Washington DC. Attended by over  610 delegates from 250 companies and 65 differentcountries, the  two-day Summit included keynotes and round table discussions focused on  theneed for global collaboration in addressing the challenges of  creative industries in the digital eraand building a constructive  dialogue about the importance of copyright protection and  thedistribution of creative works.

Gibb’s plea for stronger copyright protection was backed by several  high-profile legislators fromthe U.S. and other countries:

• Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary  Committee, joined Senator Or rin G. Hatch, Ranking  Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Congressman Robert  Wexler, Member of the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs  committees, in talkingwith many other speakers about the importance of  appropriate copyright and IP protectionsto facilitate and sustain  long-term economic development. "I see intellectual property rightsas  an important way to ensure that inventors and creators have the  incentives to producetheir work" said Senator Leahy. "Your industry is  one of the few that consistently generatesa positive balance of  trade," said Senator Hatch. Congressman Wexler spoke about theneed to  reach out to the "so-called Napster generation", which has come of age  in a digital

• French Minister of Culture and Communication, Christine Albanel,  in the voice of the Ambassador of France to the United States, Pierre  Vimont, presented her "realistic andambitious" Creation and Internet  law to fight against piracy. "Those who believe that Internet  must remain an anarchic jungle are living in the wrong times. Piracy  is a childishdisease of the Internet that must now grow up, and take  responsibility." Even though the French Constitutional Court has  ruled as unconstitutional certain aspects of theenforcement mechanisms  proposed in this new Law, a recurrent theme of the Summit hasbeen the  beacon of hope offered by the French in the continuing battle against  the plagueof internet piracy and its law. France has set a precedent  and many other countries haveadopted similar legislation (Ireland and  South Korea) or are engaging similar discussionswith the industry.

Copyright protection and the fight against online piracy were among the  myriad of issuesaddressed at the Summit and debated by over 100  speakers from 20 countries:

• Intellectual property and copyright protection are still an  integral part of the US policy. Global enforcement and copyright  harmonization throughout the world are still onthe agenda.  Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Chair of the House Judiciary  Committee,in the voice of Perry H. Apelbaum, Chief of staff and chief  counsel, announced a hearingon audio-video performance royalties next  July. US online media would be required tocompensate creators for  digital transmissions of their works in the form of a  performanceroyalty (which is already the case in many European  countries). Other US IP and copyrightlegislative projects announced at  the Summit by US legislators include the reintroduction ofan orphan  works bill and the Performance Rights legislation to establish  performancerights in sound recordings for over-the air radio stations.
• Fostering the dialogue between new business models, digital service  providers (DSPs) and rights holders to find market driven solutions was  one of the objectives ofthe Summit. Google’s participation was a good  example of what dialogue can bring andhow to provide new opportunities  for revenues for rights holders. "We can be partners, notenemies," said  David C. Drummond, Senior VP for corporate development and chief  legalofficer of Google, who talked at the Summit about YouTube and the  Google settlementwith authors and book publishers. "Downloading  e-books is not an established behavior"and the Google settlement  should enable the publishing industry to create a moreregulated  market, said President of Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments and  formerchairman of the Association of American Publishers Richard  Sarnoff. "Our music makes [your] devices relevant," said  David Israelite, President and CEO of the National Music
  Publishers  Association, to Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of the Consumer  Electronic
  Association, "so it’s time we determine how to move  forward legally". Today many rightssocieties in the world still find  it challenging to generate fair remuneration for creators fromthe  websites who use their works (music, films, photos, books...).
• Not only do collective rights management organizations fully  serve a purpose for bothcreators and services using creative works in  the digital century but they can really be the un-lockers of the  so-called copyright gridlock, as explained by Michael Heller,  Lawprofessor and author of The Gridlock Economy. "Well-designed  collective rightsmanagement can be one focal point for solving new  media gridlock."
• Faced with the continued erosion of the value of rights with the  emergence of "newbusiness models" that generate huge traffic but very  small turnover, CISAC unveileda study that served as the basis for  discussions on possible scenarios for a contributionfrom ISPs in the  fight against online piracy and financing creativity. ISPs should  beprepared to recognize their responsibilities when their networks are  used to abusecopyright. Equally, rights owners should ensure that ISPs  understand the value creatorsand rights owners bring to their business.
• Considering the current state of the global economy, intellectual  property and copyrightare key to economic growth recovery.  Creative industries create value and jobs withinnational economies.  WIPO, the Worldwide Intellectual Property Organization, pointed  outthat copyright industry is responsible for about 6% of a developing  economy. That’s alsothe reason why The World Bank helped  developing markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America improve their IP  protection frameworks as Anne-Marie Leroy, the World Bank’s Senior  Vice President and Group General Counsel, reminded the participants.
• For the many creators gathered at the Summit, their moral rights  and creative freedomare as important as their economic rights. "Artists like to be respected but they wouldsettle for having their  works respected," said world renowned painter and sculptor Frank  Stella. "The integrity of the music I’ve done is protected. I’ve  given the rights to a lot ofpeople and I’ve refused the rights to a  lot of people when they mutilated a couple of thesong and I didn’t  think the production was worthy," confirmed U.S. songwriter  andperformer Lamont Dozier. "I don’t want my work to sit in a  drawer. I want it to be exploredand used by other artists, spliced and  diced, but I want to be taken care of for it and that’swhat performing  rights societies are for," concluded U.S. songwriter, recording artist  andactor Paul Williams.

"By inviting all the stakeholders involved in the global digital economy  at the World Copyright Summit, CISAC’s ambition was to confront  different experiences and visions of the future," said Eric  Baptiste, Director General of CISAC. "The debates were open and  frank, and while wemay not all agree on our visions of the future, one  common thread emerged throughout the Summit: creators, such as music  composers, film directors, painters, photographers, writers andtheir  works are at the heart of the digital economy, and their contributions  must be recognizedand their rights must be preserved and protected."

Many positive ideas came out of the discussions in Washington, DC. The  entire World Copyright Summit material is now available online (Videos,  photos and speeches) on www.cisac.org.  Inaddition, a detailed report of CISAC’s 2009 World Copyright Summit  will be published in thecoming weeks.

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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 anddigital world,  CISAC’s main missions are to reinforce the international network of  copyright societies, to bethe 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 118countries, CISAC is an  international NGO and represents more than 2.5 million creators and  publishers ofartistic 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 $9.7billion (7.141€). For more information, please  visit www.cisac.org

Media Contact
For the U.S.: Kaci Farrell, APCO Worldwide / +1 (202) 778 1305 /kfarrell@apcoworldwide.com
For  Europe: Adeline Deliau, Aspect Consulting / +33 (0) 43 59 29 87 /adeline@aspectconsulting.eu
Marianne  Rollet, CISAC Communications Director / +33 (0) 6 22 51 61 12marianne.rollet@cisac.org