While Frank Stella spoke abstractly* about the need for continued copyright protection for artists, film director Milos Forman gave a straight-forward keynote that linked the importance of copyright protection to the livelihood of artists. Mr. Forman reminded the audience of his Czech roots, where under a Communist regime artists had little control and were often [...]

The important role of artists in the copyright debates was emphasized more than once at the World Copyright Summit. Without a doubt, there was agreement that if artists did not create and share those creations with the general public, then most everyone at that conference would be out of a job. Except the artists, of [...]

WASHINGTON – The chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee opened the second day of CISAC’s 2nd World Copyright Summit today with an inspiring address. A longtime champion of creators and copyright owners, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) reiterated his support for us in Congress and made clear his understanding of the importance of copyright as [...]

WASHINGTON – The above headline shouldn’t have to happen. In my panel yesterday here at CISAC’s 2nd World Copyright Summit, I dismissed the false dichotomy of “Hollywood v. Silicon Valley,” but it keeps popping up. This morning CISAC had Consumer Electronics Association CEO Gary Shapiro debate National Music Publishers Association CEO David Israelite. It will [...]

WASHINGTON — Here at CISAC’s 2nd World Copyright Summit, YouTube Chief Counsel Zahavah Levine declared she had just learned of an illness from which she suffers — copyright gridlock. The term came from the previous speaker, Columbia Law School Professor Michael Heller, who argued that gridlock on intellectual property rights is stopping innovation and harming [...]

WASHINGTON – An acclaimed songwriter opened CISAC’s 2nd World Copyright Summit here today, and that songwriter happens to be a U.S. Senator. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) once again was charming, informed, thoughtful and inspiring in his speech. Once again he was a passionate supporter of creators and copyright owners, and told the 500 or so international [...]

WASHINGTON – I spoke on the opening panel here at CISAC’s 2nd World Copyright Summit at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center, which puts the Minoan labyrinth to shame. I had the pleasure of following the opening keynote of Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), whose moving address I will highlight in a separate post. Responding to [...]

In an online discourse the other day, a creator said something with which I strongly agreed. He said that copyright is essential for promoting the creativity of individual artists. Then he said something I found a wee bit incongruous; he said he wasn’t all that bullish on copyright for corporations. Naturally that friend of yours [...]

Greetings! My name is Meg and I am one of the summer interns here at Copyright Alliance. One of the best things about living and working in Washington, D.C. is having the chance to attend some of the numerous events and activities held in the area. This past Tuesday marked the ninth Christopher A. Meyer [...]

The good folks at the Digital Watermarking Alliance have put out an interesting white paper titled “Digital Serial Numbers and Piracy Deterrence: The Deterrent Effect of Digital Serial Numbers on Illegal File-Sharing and Downloading.” Here are some highlights from their release: The study, conducted by Interpret, aimed to determine whether the inclusion of Digital Serial [...]