How the digital industry, its consumers, and government should promote strong markets and fight piracy will be the main focuses when a round of national industry and government experts gather for a June 10 conference here called "Promoting Markets for Creativity: Copyright in the Internet Age."
Co-sponsored by the Progress & Freedom Foundation and George Mason University's Tech Center, the daylong conference will feature appearances by U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), who chairs the House Subcommittee on Courts, Internet, and Intellectual Property, as well as intellectual property, law, and economics scholars including Richard Epstein of the University of Chicago, Scott Kieff of Washington University in St. Louis, Edmund Kitch of the University of Virginia, and Stan Liebowitz of the University of Texas.
"New ventures like (Apple's) iTunes Music Store and formats like Movielink, Rhapsody and Pressplay are stimulating great interest," said the director of PFF's Center for the Study of Digital Property, James V. DeLong, as the foundation announced the conference June 5. "And new business models are in the making elsewhere. Our speakers will explore the legal, economic, technical and policy aspects of the changing digital marketplace."
Also expected will be commentaries on the several presentations, which conference organizers say will be issued subsequently as a book. The commentators are expected to include University of Michigan Business School scholar Katherine Lawrence, InteCap's Michael Einhorn, CEI's Solveig Singleton, Greg Aharonian of Patent News, PFF's William F. Adkinson, Jr., and Mike Godwin of Public Knowledge, among others.
"Our conference addresses the copyright and related enforcement issues that are fundamental to the continued growth of the networked economy," said George Mason Tech Center chairman Bradford Brown with the announcement. "As more content is being digitized and distributed via the Internet, business has to have confidence in the system."
For more information or to arrange to attend the conference, contact (202) 289-8298 or [email protected].
