April 07, 2009

By By Ed Christman, N.Y.

The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers will hold its second annual World Copyright Summit on June 9 and 10 in Washington D.C., with a line-up of more than 100 speakers including the Bee Gees' Robin Gibb, songwriter Lamont Dozier, and Mexican musician and composer Armando Manzanero.

The summit, organized by CISAC, will provide a forum to discuss the importance of copyright proection and the distribution of creative works in the digital era.

"The net digital economy would not exist without the works of creators, such as music composers, film directors, painters, photographers," CISAC director generale Eric Baptiste said in a statement. "It is essential that all stakeholders involved in the digital industry in the U.S. and abroad recognize the role and the value of creative works."

He adds that the forum - which carries the slogan "New Frontiers for Creators in the Marketplace" - will see copyright creators, industry leaders and policy makers to "discuss scenarios and solutions for the growing digital economy, taking into consideration the interests of users, consumers and the creative community."

Gibb, who also serves as CISAC president, says "The voice of creators are seldom heard on copyright issues in the digital age, their participation is what makes the world summit a unique event."

Key industry speakers include Google senior VP of legal affairs David C.
Drummond; EMI Music Publishing chairman and CEO Roger Faxon; "The Gridlock Economy" author and law professor Michael Heller; YouTube chief counsel and Google associate general counsel Zahavah Levine; Microsoft senior director of intellectual property policy Suzan Mann; George Washington university Intellectual property and patent law professor Ralph Oman; U.S. Register of Copyright Marybeth Peters; Universal Music Publishing Group chairman and CEO David Renzer; Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments president and chairman
of the Association of American Publishers Richard Sarnoff; Consumer Electronics Assn. president and CEO Gary Shapiro.

The inaugural World Copyright Summit, held in Brussels in 2007, drew 550 delegates from 263 companies and 55 countries, according to the press release announcing the Washington summit.

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