"IP Management: Copyright in the Digital Age": a webinar

"IP Management: Copyright in the Digital Age" is the title of a forthcoming Oxfirst webinar conducted by Bruce Lehman, taking place on Monday 1 December 2014 at 15:00 GMT​. For many IP folk, Bruce is indelibly associated with registered IP rights since he was Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office for half a decade back in the 1990s, but he has a long and distinguished involvement with copyright: from 1974 to 1983, as Counsel to the Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. House of Representatives, he was the Committee's principal legal counsel on copyright matters, in which capacity, he advised it during the process of consideration and final passage of the 1976 Copyright Act. According to Oxfirst:

This talk examines modern copyright in the context of historical practice, with a particular focus on the EU and the WIPO copyright treaties, as well as on the global implications for current digital and multi-national copyright issues. Mobile technologies, social media, on-demand services, internet streaming, and user-created content have become the norm across the internet and all over the world. The global nature of these industries and technologies has brought new opportunities and challenges that transcend traditional borders and cultural barriers. At the same time, there is an asymmetry between countries with robust cultural and innovation economies and countries with emerging economies. The former boast strong copyright enforcement and economic incentives [this is true, but they also boast better techniques for infringing or circumventing copyright and the technical means of protecting it], while the latter lack a well-developed system or even a market from which copyright-related stakeholders can benefit. This dichotomy signals an urgent need to reexamine our national and international copyright principles, laws, and treaties. We must help and incentivize creators to protect and promote their work, domestically and abroad [this blogger appreciates this sentiment, but wonders what evidence exists as to whether the present uncertainty and free-for-all has failed to incentivise creators, particular now that we are so accustomed to the phenomenon of user-generated content. Worth discussion?].

The webinar is free, but space is limited. Click here to register.