The battle against copyright piracy must continue if the UK’s creative industries are to remain as successful and competitive as they have been in recent years, a conference was warned earlier this month.
The conference featured a group of industry heavyweights from film, TV and publishing, who had gathered to support the publication of a report celebrating the output of the UK’s creative economies.
Speakers and delegates at the conference agreed that the fight against piracy must continue, as the practice undermines the health of the industry and the ability to reinvest in future content at a grassroots level.
Interestingly, one panel member said he had discovered that the UK first introduced legislation into the court of Queen Anne, in 1710, to protect copyright, so added that, by continuing to protect it, there is no reason why Britain cannot be at the heart of the next creative revolution.
Although the panel, delegates and invited speakers generally agreed with the tone of the conference, the only slightly contentious note appeared when Chief Executive of WPP, Martin Sorrel spoke about China’s entry into the creative industries’ arena.
Mr Sorrell said that, as the territory’s gatekeepers begin to put in place rules introducing copyright protection for local and international content, the prospects of the country looking to do business with the UK and beyond will be certain. He added that copyright laws may not be high on the agenda now, but that will not be the future; “China is coming,” he said.
In this he disagreed with the founder of Enders Analysis, the conference’s organisers, Claire Enders, who had suggested earlier that because China did not respect copyright controls, for either home-grown or international content, the territory could not possibly build a serious market.