GENEVA - The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is hosting a seminar on "Legitimate Distribution of Copyright Works Online" in Singapore on July 10, 2007 – in cooperation with the Intellectual Property Office, and the Intellectual Property Academy of Singapore.

According to a press release by WIPO, key players in online copyright businesses - lawyers, academics, business people and policy-makers in the Asia-Pacific region - will shed light on this rapidly changing field.
Demand is high for new business models to access online content.

Copyright works such as film, music, online games, news and books are ideal for digital distribution and consumers go online in large numbers to seek information and entertainment. This creates a commercial environment in which profits - and risks - can be high.

Online businesses use digital technologies to reach consumers in new ways – for example Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing and social networking sites hosting user-generated content (amateur video, mobile phone photography, podcasts, wikis and blogs).

But copyright piracy has also risen to levels that threaten the sustainability of online businesses. Questions also arise about legal liability - who should be responsible for losses from piracy? With over 10 million users logging on to P2P networks at any one time and up to 600,000 films being illegally downloaded every day, it is clear that creative businesses are facing huge challenges associated with a rapid and dramatically changing commercial environment.

The seminar will explore opportunities and challenges for distributing copyright content online in the current legal and political environment. Critical issues will be examined from various perspectives: online business, technical, and legal/policy.

The seminar will be held at the Singapore Art Museum. Senior WIPO copyright officials, including Deputy Director General, Michael Keplinger, will address the seminar.

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