ALAI Germany: Conference on Orphan Works

Most aficionados of international and comparative copyright law will be familiar with ALAI (Association littéraire et artistique internationale), founded by Victor Hugo in 1878. During my time in London, I greatly enjoyed the meetings of the British branch of ALAI, BLACA (British Literary and Artistic Copyright Association) and would highly recommend them to anyone interested in copyright and conversation. Incidentally, the next meeting is scheduled for Monday (see BLACA homepage here).

Unfortunately, these days I would have to catch a plane instead of strolling down the Thames path in order to attend a BLACA meeting, so it gives me great pleasure to announce that its German sibling, ALAI Deutschland e.V., has organised a conference on orphan works in my current town of residence, Frankfurt am Main. The conference will take place on 30 November and is entitled "Verwaiste Werke im europäischen und deutschen Urheberrecht" (orphan works in European and German copyright law). As you can deduce from the title, it would probably be a good thing to possess some German language skills if you wish to attend.

The conference starts at 2 pm with a welcoming speech and introduction by Professor Reto Hilty (Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law) and Professor Alexander Peukert (Goethe University Frankfurt). It will be followed by a number of statements on orphan works by representatives of the German book trade and film industry, the German National Library and the German Film Institute, collecting society VG Wort, and the Federal Ministry of Justice. Afterwards, there will be ample time for discussion (one and a half hours, to be precise) before the conference ends at 6 pm.

Participation is free for members of ALAI Deutschland e.V. and members of Goethe University Frankfurt; the fee for anyone else is EUR 50. The venue is Room 1.802 in the Casino on the beautiful Campus Westend of Goethe University Frankfurt (see photographs here and map of the campus here).

Needless to say, I would be delighted to see you there!

RSVP:
Prof. Dr. Alexander Peukert, Senckenberganlage 31, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Fax: +49-69-798-22763
E-Mail: hofmann(at)jur.uni-frankfurt.de