Jowell announces pan-European Intellectual Property Conference

IFACCA/Artshub, 05 February 2005
United Kingdom

UK Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, and Trade and Industry Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, today gave Government backing to a major pan-European conference on Intellectual Property, which will seek to find 21st century solutions to protect creativity, ideas and innovation. The Creative Economy conference will be held on the 5-7 of October 2005, bringing together people in the industry, consumers and policy makers from all across Europe. The goal of the conference is to explore ways of putting creativity in the heart of Europe’s economies and highlight the importance of protecting intellectual property laws, whilst investigating new methods for doing so. The conference will be held with support from the UK’s EU presidency and the European Commission, and hosted by the British Copyright Council (BCC) and the British Screen Advisory Council (BSAC). The conference will focus on five key themes – education, creativity, business opportunities, enforcement and access. There will also be a showcase of British talent. Tessa Jowell said, ‘The old days when the guardianship of our creativity and ideas was relatively straightforward are gone forever and intellectual property has become more important than ever in all areas of the economy. ‘We need to raise our game to secure the future of our creative industries and fight against our old adversary – piracy. But we really need to find ways of tackling this established enemy on new fronts with fresh tactics.’ The establishment of the conference is an extension of the Industries Forum on Intellectual Property, which was set up by the UK government last year. The Forum is a cross-government body examining ways of meeting the opportunities and threats that rapidly improving technology is generating. The conference, however, will gather experts from much further a field. The increasing mutability of borders makes intellectual property and its protection a truly global concern, and the conference is a recognition of this. Jowell said, ‘We know we cannot work alone - this is a global challenge which needs a global solution. That's why we're teaming up with our European neighbours, to make sure we can all compete on a worldwide stage.’ ‘Creative Economy is a vital area of strength and growth for both the UK and Europe,' said Hewitt. 'Integral to its future is an effective and balanced intellectual property regime giving fair rewards to creators and creative businesses whilst delivering a good deal for consumers. The conference will address the key issues head on.’ The UK's creative industries, the region's fastest growing sector, are worth £53.4 billion per year. Industry estimates the cost of IP crime is £11 billion a year. The conference will take place in London from 5th to 7th October this year. For more information, CLICK HERE.

Show latest news, more from February 2005.