Copyright Controversies: Freedom, Property, Content Creation, and the DMCA

There are substantial debates under way about intellectual property, and copyright in particular. Is intellectual property founded in a natural right to ownership of information? Is it a utilitarian tool to give incentive to creation? Or is it a counterproductive monopoly on ideas? The advance of technology has changed the creative process in many ways. Is copyright consistent with new modes of creation? Finally, there are questions about how copyright laws are enforced. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act amended the law to accommodate the advance of the Internet, but it remains highly controversial in some circles. There are differences of opinion among thoughtful people on all these issues. Join us at a conference designed to expose the issues and raise the question: What should we think of copyright?

8:30–9:00 a.m.	REGISTRATION
9:00–9:30 a.m.	INTRODUCTORY REMARKS Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Chairman, Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property of the House Committee on the Judiciary Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Member, Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property of the House Committee on the Judiciary Download a Podcast of the Event (MP3)
9:30–10:30 a.m.	PANEL I - Foundations of Copyright Moderator: Drew Clark, Senior Writer, National Journal’s Technology Daily Jim Harper, Director of Information Policy Studies, The Cato Institute Jim DeLong, Senior Fellow, Director of the Center for the Study of Digital Property, The Progress & Freedom Foundation David K. Levine, Coauthor, Against Intellectual Monopoly Download a Podcast of the Event (MP3)
10:30–10:45 a.m.	BREAK
10:45–11:45 a.m.	PANEL II - Copyright and Technology Moderator: Kevin Maney, Technology Columnist, USA Today Gregory Lastowka, Coauthor, “Amateur to Amateur: The Rise of a New Creative Culture” Michael Masnick, President and CEO, TechDirt Corporate Intelligence Patrick Ross, Senior Fellow, Vice President for Communications and External Affairs, The Progress & Freedom Foundation Download a Podcast of the Event (MP3)
11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m.	PANEL III– The Digital Millennium Copyright Act Moderator: Sarah Lai Stirland, Senior Writer, National Journal’s Technology Daily Tim Lee, Author, “Circumventing Competition: The Perverse Consequences of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act” Solveig Singleton, Senior Adjunct Fellow, The Progress & Freedom Foundation Emery Simon, General Counsel, Business Software Alliance Gary Shapiro, President, Consumer Electronics Association Download a Podcast of the Event (MP3)
12:45–1:45 p.m.	LUNCHEON