Do we come to bury copyright -- or to praise it?

The IPKat is pleased to announce that his weblog is running, in conjunction with the 1709 Blog (which specialises in copyright matters), another event.  The notice, which also appears on the 1709 Blog so if you read the one, you won't need to read the other as well), goes like this:

“Do we come to bury copyright — or to praise it?”

Tuesday 12 July 2011

What’s the debate about?

Is copyright a vital tool for protecting authors, composers and artists, and for encouraging investment in the recording and transmission of their works to the public—or is it an outdated, cumbersome barrier to the spread of information and to the stifling of the very culture which it purports to promote?

The current state and future prospects for copyright law have never been more keenly debated than today, when modern technologies and the expectations of internet users are among the forces which have called for a radical overhaul of what, for others, is a sensible and practical basis for achieving justice while facilitating business.

This debate seeks to air the issues that make us ask: do we come to bury copyright or to praise it?

Four people who are deeply committed to finding an answer to this question will be debating it.  The audience will be polled for their answers both before and after the debate, so that we can see which side has been the more persuasive.

Debating the issue (in alphabetical order):

Crosbie Fitch (An R&D software engineer,  Crosbie has been researching and developing revenue mechanisms and business models for digital artists and their audiences for more than a decade. He has concluded from his work that  copyright is not only an ineffective anachronism, but that it is unethical and unnecessary)

Emily Goodhand (Copyright and Compliance Officer at the University of Reading, Emily enjoys engaging with others on copyright and IP issues and dedicates a lot of time to raising people's awareness of copyright. She writes the copyright4education weblog. As @copyrightgirl she is listed by The Times as a Top Ten tweeter)

David Allen Green (A lawyer and writer, David is head of media at Preiskel & Co LLP, a City TMT boutique firm, and was recently selected as one of The Lawyer’s “Hot 100” for 2011.  He is also legal correspondent of the New Statesman. His “Jack of Kent” blog was shortlisted for the George Orwell Prize in 2010)

Richard Mollet (Richard has been Chief Executive of The Publishers Association—the leading representative voice for the UK's book and learned journal publisher— since October 2010. He coordinates members' views on copyright policy and anti- infringement strategies.  Richard was previously Director of Public Affairs for the BPI, the UK recorded music industry body)

In the chair

 Mr Justice Arnold (Richard was called to the Bar in 1985, became a QC in 2000 and was appointed to the Chancery Division of the High Court in 2008)

Further details

Date: Tuesday 12 July 2011; Time: 5.00pm till 7.00pm; Venue: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, 65 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1HT, England (please use Tudor Street entrance).

Admission is free. Refreshments will be provided after the debate.

To register, please email Jeremy Phillips here using the subject line “Copyright Debate”.