How to Create Value in the Digital Economy?
World-Renowned Creators, Political Leaders and Key Industry Players
to Convene at World Copyright Summit in Brussels, June 7-8, 2011
Bee Gees’ Robin Gibb, Croatian President and music composer Ivo Josipović, French
visual artist Hervé Di Rosa, European Commissioners Michel Barnier and Neelie Kroes,
WIPO Director General Francis Gurry, EMI Group CEO Roger Faxon and Hachette Livre
CEO Arnaud Nourry to address creative industries and copyright issues in the digital age.
Paris, February 23, 2011 – Today, CISAC (the International Confederation of Societies of Authors
and Composers) announced the main programme topics and speakers for the third World
Copyright Summit - 7 & 8 June 2011, Brussels. World famous creators, rights organisations,
music and books publishers, TV and film producers, policy makers, media and content providers,
ISPs and telecom operators, hardware manufacturers, legal and technology experts, will meet to
exchange ideas and debate about the future of intellectual property and creative content (music,
books, movies, pictures,…) in the digital environment.
2011 Keynote Speakers confirmed as of today include:
 Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services
 Hervé Di Rosa, French visual artist and CISAC Vice-President
 Roger Faxon, EMI Group CEO, interviewed by Paul Williams, songwriter and ASCAP
President and Chairman of the Board
 Robin Gibb, legendary singer and songwriter of the Bee Gees and CISAC President
 Francis Gurry, WIPO Director General (World Intellectual Property Organization),
interviewed by Eric Baptiste, SOCAN CEO
 Ivo Josipović, President of Croatia and music composer
 Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission and European Commissioner
for Digital Agenda
 Arnaud Nourry, Hachette Livre Chairman and CEO
Robin Gibb will be joined at the World Copyright Summit by such creators as world renowned
French visual artist Hervé Di Rosa, classical music composer and President of Croatia Ivo
Josipović, US composer, songwriter and actor Paul Williams, and British poetess Wendy Cope.
The Summit will feature key political leaders, who are deeply involved in copyright issues such as
Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services; Neelie Kroes, Vice
President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Digital Agenda; and Francis Gurry,
solicitor, Law professor and WIPO Director General, also co-author of “International Intellectual
Property in an Integrated World Economy”.
Key industry speakers also include Roger Faxon, CEO of EMI Group; Arnaud Nourry, Chairman
and CEO of Hachette Livre; Frances Moore, President/CEO of IFPI (International Federation of
the Phonographic Industry); Simon Juden, Head of Public Policy at Pearson and former President
of the UK’s Publishers Association; and Christopher Marcich, President and Managing Director
for Europe, the Middle East and Africa of the MPA (Motion Pictures Association).
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A line-up of more than 100 speakers will emphasise the need for constructive dialogue on the
importance of copyright protection and the distribution of creative works in the digital era.
While the capacity to access content now seems endless and, from a consumer’s perspective,
almost at no cost, where and how can value be extracted from the usage and dissemination of
content? What are the models that will deliver significant value and remuneration for rights
owners? Is the answer in the ‘Cloud’? What are the best systems to ensure that rights owners are
properly compensated? What is the role of ISPs? And where do creators fit into this new ecosystem? The Summit will be the ideal platform to discuss all these issues in a forward-thinking way
with all the stakeholders.
Expect views from a wide variety of perspectives, especially those of creators, due to the nature of
CISAC’s membership, which includes authors’ societies and guilds active in all creative fields –
music, audio-visual, literary, and visual arts.
With digital disruption now spreading well beyond the music sector into other creative fields, this
topic will be a primary area of focus for the high level speakers from all artistic disciplines.
Taking place in Brussels, the capital of the European Union, the 2011 Summit will have a strong
European flavour. Very important pieces of legislation and changes in the fields of copyright,
collective licensing and the digital economy are currently being discussed in Brussels and at the
global level.
The slogan for the World Copyright Summit, “Creating value in the digital economy”, reflects the
three main themes to be addressed during this two-day conference:
 Create: The global eco-system for creators and creative industries
 Connect: The digital economy and new business models
 Respect: Authors’ rights and the legislative & social environment
“The voices of creators are seldom heard on copyright issues in the digital age, their participation is
what makes the World Copyright Summit a unique event,” said CISAC President Robin Gibb,
singer and songwriter of the legendary Bee Gees. “In Europe at least, the system of collective
rights management is at a crossroads. The way forward for the collective rights management and
creative industries as a whole will not come from seizing upon short-term commercial advantage,
but from allowing the development of a system that is sustainable because it is fair to all.”
“The new digital economy would not exist without the works of creators; the future is based on the
right balance between creators’ and users’ rights. This is what we mean with our “Create –
Connect – Respect” tagline for this 2011 Summit,” commented Robert Hooijer, Interim Director
General of CISAC.
“It is essential that the creative industries adapt to the reality of digital technology and the Internet.
Legal and business mechanisms for creating value must align with the expectations of actors in the
digital environment,” stated WIPO Director General Francis Gurry, who added: “We need to be
creative about different industries, and to analyze the different value chains of production so as to
ensure that those involved in authoring and marketing content are adequately remunerated and
sustained.”
The 2011 World Copyright Summit is organised by CISAC and supported by numerous
organisations (partner and advisory committee), which represent every sectors of the industry:
BASCAP (Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy); BIEM (International organisation
representing mechanical rights societies); CEPIC (Coordination of European Picture Agencies
Stock, Press and Heritage); ECSA (European Composer and Songwriter Alliance); EVA (European
Visual Artists); EWC (European Writers’ Council); FEP (Federation of European Publishers); FERA
(Federation of European Film Directors); GESAC (European Grouping of Societies of Authors and
Composers); ICMP (International Confederation of Music Publishers); IFPI (International
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Federation of Phonographic Industry); IFRRO (International Federation of Reproduction Rights
Organisations); SAA (Society of Audiovisual Authors); SAC (Songwriters Association of Canada).
After the first edition in Brussels in 2007, the follow-up World Copyright Summit, held in
Washington, DC in 2009, drew over 600 delegates from 290 companies and 68 countries. The
2011 World Copyright Summit is expected to attract a similar audience.
The Summit will be held in the Square Brussels Meeting Centre.
For more information about CISAC’s World Copyright Summit, detailed conference program and
registration, please visit www.copyrightsummit.com
Follow the World Copyright Summit on:
Download logos and pictures of the Summit: http://bit.ly/dWvoR7
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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
globalised and digital world, CISAC’s main missions are to reinforce the international network of
authors’ 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 229 authors’ societies and guilds in 121 countries, CISAC is an international
NGO and represents more than 3 million creators and publishers of artistic works in all genres
including music, audiovisual, drama, literature, photography and the visual arts. In 2009, the
royalties collected by CISAC's member societies in their respective territories topped €7.152 billion
($9.7 billion).
For more information, please visit www.cisac.org
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Press
Europe and World: Jean-Baptiste Damestoy
+33 (0) 43 59 29 87
[email protected]
Brussels: Aymeric Leruste
+32 (0) 2 510 60 23 [email protected]
London: Toby Nicol
+44 (0) 207 836 91 20
[email protected]
US: Laurie Jakobsen, Jaybird Communications
+1 (202) 646-484-6764
[email protected]
Marianne Rollet, CISAC
+33 (0) 1 55 62 08 57
[email protected]
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