World Copyright Summit

The World Copyright Summit is being held in Belgium on the 7th and 8th of June 2011. You can find a list of speakers here. The conference theme is Create-Connect-Respect with a particular concern for creating value in the digital economy - from their website:

The World Copyright Summit is a truly international and cross-industry event addressing the future of the creative community and the entertainment business in the digital economy.

All stakeholders involved in creative industries – creation, licensing, usage, collective management, legislation and dissemination of intellectual property and creative content – now have a unique forum to exchange views on the value of creative works, the future of authors’ rights, the role of creators and their collective management organisations.

The theme of the conference will focus on the following:

• 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

This will include, among other things, issues such as Europe as a driving force in the digital economy, the role of creators in the digital environment, creating value in the digital economy, ISPs in the digital eco-system, the future of books, resale rights for visual artists, building bridges between creators and the digital generation, cultural diversity, and licensing.

I must admit I don't recognise a lot of the speakers and it does looked stacked with those preferring a protectionist approach to copyright.

Australian Brett Cottle, CEO, APRA / AMCOS (Australia) is hosting a keynote session from US author and business journalist Robert Levine. "In his forthcoming book Free Ride – How the Digital Parasites Are Destroying the Culture Business, and How the Culture Business Can Fight Back (Random House) Levine provides an alternative view to the „internet-is-free‟ discourse and delivers a call-to-action to content owners."