Showing posts with label cultural and creative industries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cultural and creative industries. Show all posts

1/9/09

EU Public Affairs Monitor - 09/01/09

Debates on creativity
"Throughout EYIC2009 six debates on key topics around Creativity and Innovation will be held in cooperation with the European Policy Centre (EPC), special partner of the Year. The debates are designed to provide a platform for reflection and exchange of ideas which can contribute to policy discussion on Creativity and Innovation.

In each debate, high level speakers will introduce their views and experience in Creativity and Innovation. The debates will take place in Brussels and will cover the following issues:
* Cultural diversity as basis for Creativity and Innovation
Debate organised to explore Europe’s potential for C&I through multiculturalism.
* Creativity and Innovation in the public sector
Debate focused on innovation in the public sector through integration of technologies and innovation of processes, in particular in the fields of health, education and social services.
* Education for creativity and innovation
Debate on the importance of education for developing creative, innovative and entrepreneurial societies.
* Creativity and Innovation and the knowledge society
Debate on how the free movement of knowledge can both inspire creativity and innovation in Europe and contribute to an important modernisation of Europe in light of economic and social challenges.
* Creativity and Innovation and sustainable development
Debate on eco-innovation with particular attention to climate change, security of energy supply and the issue of innovation and job-creation.
* Creative arts and Industries
Debate about the role of creative arts in industrial design and development." [Create]

Creativity versus crisis: European Year of Creativity and Innovation
"Encouraging people to be as creative and innovative as possible in education, employment and cultural activities are three main aims of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation launched Wednesday. The aim is to innovate in areas such as the economy but also social and individual well-being.

Other objectives for this year include creativity and innovation in transport policy, the environment, research and the information society. There will be promotion campaigns, events and initiatives at European, national, regional and local levels. Supporters are hoping it will help the so called "Lisbon Agenda" launched in 2001 which aims to make the EU "the most competitive knowledge-based economy" in the world by 2010." [Europa]

HARDtalk interview broadcast
Stephen Sackur speaks to the CEO of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, John Kennedy. These are tough times for the traditional record companies.
Sales of CDs are falling, the battle against online piracy shows no signs of abating and established artists are working more independently.

John Kennedy is the CEO of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
Is the new digital era good for artists, fans and the music industry, or is it a disaster in the making? He represents the international recording industry worldwide and is fighting for its survival. [BBC]

Cable operators first ISPs to respond
"After a decade of RIAA-bashing by very vocal advocates who essentially believe that music should be shared freely over the Internet – or, at least, that music copyright holders should not enforce rights in court – it comes as no real surprise that U.S. Internet services providers that agreed recently to help stem peer-to-peer piracy want their names and the terms held in confidence. Lips of the parties -- and possible parties -- to the ‘graduated response’ deals involving illegal file sharers, brokered by New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, are tighter than usual.

While it would seem logical that telecoms such as Verizon and AT&T, which benefit from their legitimate music offerings, would be leading the way in the initiative, such is not the case.

A Music Confidential investigation indicates that cable operators were the first of the “several leading ISPs” to seal the deals. The cable operators’ trade group, the National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. (NCTA), was right in the midst of it all. And Cuomo doesn’t intend to limit his appeal to those ISPs within New York." [MusicConfidential]

Pay backs for ringbacks
"After several years of uncertainty in Germany over who controls the right to license compositions for ringtones, the highest court in the country issued a ruling just before Christmas. The result is raising even more questions as ringtone providers, publishers and German collecting society GEMA try to figure out who is entitled to the millions of Euros at stake. Aside from the legal and monetary implications, the case serves as an alert to rights holders reminding them of the importance of reading society membership agreements closely, especially as they relate to ‘new ‘ technologies.

Germany is the only country where courts have recognized that a ringtone is an ‘adaptation’ of a recorded composition under copyright law. This triggers the right of writers and publishers to collect fees from users for engaging in three activities: the reproduction (aka the mechanical reproduction), the performance and the adaptation. GEMA had been licensing the mechanical and performance rights for ringtones, while many publishers were licensing separately – and directly to providers – the adaptation right. As a result, ringtone providers were obtaining a license from GEMA and licenses from many individual publishers – and paying both."[MusicConfidential]

EU Council Monitor - 09/01/09

Boosting Creativity and Innovation in Europe: Official launch of the European Year 2009 in Prague
"The Czech Presidency of the EU and European Commission launched the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009 on Wednesday, 7 January with the slogan “Imagine. Create. Innovate”. The Year was inaugurated during a ceremony in Prague by the Commission President JosĂ© Manuel Barroso and the Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek. At the accompanying launch conference, the Ambassadors for the Year presented a report on creativity and innovation in the EU, whose message is that investment in education and in the skills and creative capacity of Europe should be the top priority of EU institutions and governments.

The conference to mark the launch of the Year was held in Prague on Wednesday afternoon, and was attended by a host of personalities including high representatives of EU member states, of the European Commission, members of the Czech government and several Ambassadors of the Year. The Conference ran in parallel to the meeting between the Commission and the Czech Government and was followed by the evening inauguration ceremony in the National Theatre in Prague." [Create2009]

Leading European intellectuals urge the EU to invest in Europe´s creative capacity
"A brainstorming session between nine Ambassadors of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009 (EYCI) was held this morning in Prague, under the auspices of the Czech Presidency of the European Union. The roundtable conclusions will feed reflection, debate and policy-making all throughout the Year and beyond.

The Ambassadors present welcomed the decision of the EU to declare 2009 the European Year of Creativity and Innovation, particularly in the context of the current crisis, which creates opportunities for reform and change. Moreover, they expressed their commitment to contribute to the success of the Year and to foster long-term debate on these topics, crucial for Europe´s future position in the Word." [Create2009]

3/9/08

EU Commission: Competition - 03/09/08

Study on the entrepreneurial dimension of cultural and creative industries 03/09/08
The aim of the study is to better understand the workings and specific needs of enterprises, particularly SMEs, in cultural and creative industries. The study must focus on environmental factors, especially regulatory, that influence the development of these enterprises, and also on the issue of access to funding and entry barriers. Particular attention must be given to research and development. [Europa]