Microsoft convenes panel on the relationship between consumers and copyright

Posted by Jeff Meisner
Editor, Microsoft on the Issues

On March 27, leading experts on copyright and innovation gathered at the Microsoft Innovation & Policy Center in Washington, D.C., to explore ways to promote consumer experiences, advance innovation and respect copyright.

Over the last two decades, digital technology and the Internet have dramatically altered the ways in which content is created, distributed, accessed and enjoyed. As policymakers review copyright law and policies to assess what is working well and where there is opportunity for improvement, much of the discussion has focused on enforcement mechanisms rather than consumer relationships to copyright.

Tom Rubin, Chief IP Strategy Counsel, Microsoft, delivered opening remarks highlighting the vast opportunities that exist today to allow consumers to create, store, use and enjoy works in new and compelling ways while still respecting the rights of creators.

Moderator Tom Rubin, chief IP strategy counsel, Microsoft, delivers opening remarks at the @Microsoft conversation on copyright, “Copyright and Consumers: Are They in Sync?” on March 27, 2014.

Rubin then moderated a panel discussion on topics including how consumers are navigating the new digital economy as both content consumers and producers and how creativity and copyright drive innovation. Panelists included Shira Perlmutter, chief policy officer and director for international affairs, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; Joe Keeley, chief counsel, House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet; Victoria Espinel, president and chief executive officer, BSA ¦ The Software Alliance; Sherwin Siy, vice president of legal affairs, Public Knowledge; Mitch Glazier, senior executive vice president, Recording Industry Association of America; and Troy Dow, vice president and counsel, The Walt Disney Company.

Tom Rubin (L) moderates the @Microsoft conversation on copyright featuring Joe Keeley, chief counsel, Subcommittee on the Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet, House Judiciary Committee; Shira Perlmutter, chief policy officer and director for international affairs, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; Victoria Espinel, president and chief executive officer, BSA|The Software Alliance; Troy Dow, vice president and counsel, The Walt Disney Company; Mitch Glazier, senior executive vice president, Recording Industry Association of America; and Sherwin Siy, vice president of legal affairs, Public Knowledge.

The conversation highlighted the role consumers play in today’s content- and information-rich digital economy, and each panelist presented the opportunities of the digital world and the unique challenges policymakers and stakeholders face today.

At Microsoft, we strive to be a responsible leader in the IP ecosystem by actively engaging with governments, industry and others in IP policy discussions that focus on creating sustainable environments for future innovation. To learn more about Microsoft’s work in IP, please visit: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/legal/intellectualproperty/default.aspx. Join the conversation on copyright and consumers on Twitter with hashtag #ConsumerIP.