Digital Rights Management: The End of Collecting Societies?
Lucerne, 24 and 25 June 2004
This symposium was produced and organised by i-call and IPI (Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property) Berne.The purpose of the symposium was to take a critical look at the challenging and equally important issues of content distribution in the digital era. The focus was placed upon the controversial relationship between Digital Rights Management and Collecting Societies. As visible from the conference programme, three basis modules elaborated on the social and cultural policy, human rights and competition law aspects of "Rights´ Management" in a technologically dynamic environment. Two podium discussions subsequently addressed the problems posed by the implementation of the EU Digital Copyright Directive and the two WIPO Internet Agreements. The latter topics were of special practical interest for the Swiss audience considering the public consultations of the draft for transposition and ratification of the two WIPO Internet Agreements planned for the second half of 2004.
With 70 participants, the event was directed at content and software producers, lawyers, collecting societies´ representatives and collecting societies´ members, journalists, lobbyists, politicians, public authorities´ and unions´ representatives.
Digital Rights Management - The End of Collecting Societies?, Stämpfli Publishers, Berne, Juris Publishers, New York, Bruylant, Brussels, Ant. N. Sakkoulas, Athens, 2005
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The ubiquitous digitisation and the advent of Digital Rights Management Systems have created novel environments for content distribution and rights administration. The legal frameworks will indubitably have to evolve to match these new realities. The question whether the new technological infrastructures would render collective societies obsolete is part of this regulatory puzzle and needs to be adequately addressed in view of the balanced development of the Information Society. The present publication seeks to explore the different dimensions of collective rights management and to reassess the role of collecting societies in the digital era. The contributions of internationally renowned experts in the field of copyright and new technologies provide invaluable analyses from social and cultural policy, human rights and competition law aspects of the relationship "DRMs vs. Collective Societies" and elaborate on its future implications. Order book here.
