The future of intellectual property Creativity and innovation in the digital era European

Conference

April 23rd–24th, 2009

Goethe Institut and Committee of the Regions

Brussels

The era of digital networks has given rise to new problems in the area of intellectual property. They include the question of how best to deal with the massive numbers of downloads of film, music and software via peer-to-peer file sharing. They also open up copyright issues arising out of the digitalisation of entire public libraries.

The issues affect many different interest groups, ranging from large film and music industry corporations to individual authors and artists trying to make a living from their work, as well as teenagers who risk being prosecuted after posting copyright-protected material on YouTube.

At the same time, digitalisation offers totally new opportunities for the worldwide exchange of knowledge. It facilitates a new kind of creativity with music and films that in the past have only been passively consumed. And it opens up opportunities for innovative business models like flat rate all-you-can-eat subscriptions or advertising-financed music services.

The conference the future of intellectual property will address a range of issues that are raised by this exciting policy area. Above all: How can the concept of intellectual property be adapted to the realities of the digital era, and at the same time not become outdated and inefficient?

I will be on one of the panels at this conference. 

Download the programme for The future of intellectual property Creativity and innovation in the digital era