President Jean Michel Jarre heralds copyright protection at the Forum de Chaillot
To promote a strong European strategy for culture » was the objective of the Forum de Chaillot, a conference organised by the French Minister of Culture and Communications Aurélie Filippetti on April 4-5. On the morning of the first day, the Ministers of Culture from 15 member states of the European Union gathered in Paris, together with the Ministers of Culture from Switzerland and Ukraine, for a unique picture.
Under the banner “Future of Culture, Future of Europe”, the forum attracted more than 1,200 artists, academics, policy makers, professionals and journalists from the creative, cultural and digital industries.
During the event, contributors exchanged views on the importance of creative industries for the future of Europe and rallied to define a common European strategy to foster artistic creativity, cultural diversity and economic growth.
CISAC President Jean Michel Jarre was one of the first to add his voice to the discussion. Along with other legendary creators such as Peter Brook, Costa-Gavras, Blanca Li and Macha Makeïeff, Jarre launched the “artist’s appeal” that called for “a new Europe for Culture” and via an online petition, has already been signed by over 50 internationally recognised creators.
When discussions moved to copyright, CISAC President’s comments were again well received and widely reported. In a roundtable on “the role of copyright in funding creativity in the digital age”, Jarre along with ASACP CEO Paul Williams, delivered a rousing speech.
Jarre stated that culture was key to sustainable development in our societies. He invited the audience to keep in mind that, in many families, “a son or a daughter was dreaming of becoming a musician, a film maker or a graphic artist”. He called on creators to take a more pro-active stance in the copyright debate to enable the next generation to live from their art. Underlining that most of the value in digital devices today – such as smart phones – comes from the creative content they convey, he stated that creators could be considered “virtual shareholders” of Internet giants. He stressed that digital executives also love creative content, such as music, films, and pictures, and so he invited them to work with rights holders to invent new, fair business models that would enable creators to live from their art and continue to enrich the world with their creations. Firmly opposing any attempt to shorten the length of copyright protection, he promoted the idea of an “eternal author’s right” that would help provide adequate funding to all creators. As many countries around the world, including China and Africa, are looking at Europe to model their legislation on copyright, he stressed the importance of keeping intact Europe’s legal arsenal on copyright. Finally, he pleaded in favor of private copying and against the multiplication of copyright exceptions.
In a very moving speech, Paul Williams recalled the early days of his career. He explained how author’s right, an idea that originated in Europe, was adopted in the United States in the 19th century, enabling creators such as himself to make a living when he started writing songs. He emphasize that he had been able to devote his life to his passion – song writing – because strong copyright legislation and collective management were at hand in the United States.
Source from the official website of CISAC: http://www.cisac.org/CisacPortal/consul ... do?id=1792
Blah Blah Cafe, the Jean-Michel Jarre forum
