Creative Economy: A Feasible Development Option

Box 6.5Collective management of copyright“How is it possible to ensure that an individual musician is remunerated each time his song is played on the radio?Or a writer whenever his play is performed? How can the copyright and related rights of such creators be managedefficiently so as to enable them to concentrate on their creative activity while receiving the economic reward due tothem?6The role of intellectual property in the creative economyThe analysis in this chapter underscores the idea thatan efficient and fair international intellectual property systemis in the interest of creators, creative industries and consumersin all countries, and the level of its implementationis often the subject of discussions in free trade agreements.IPRs are territorial, which means that they are protected onlyin the country or region where protection has been appliedfor and obtained. Protecting intellectual property in exportmarkets is crucial if a creator is to enjoy the same benefits ofprotection abroad as are enjoyed in the domestic market.From the WIPO perspective, adherence to internationalinstruments allows developing countries to have equalaccess to the markets of other member nations, and toensure that their local creators’ works are protected abroad.It allows the creation of a domestic creative-industry infrastructurethat competes with foreign products. This helps toestablish credibility in the global community.Intellectual property provides incentives to creatorsand entrepreneurs in the form of a tradable economic asset— a copyright — that is instrumental for investing in thedevelopment, production and distribution of goods andservices, in a market economy, that are largely based onhuman creativity. This in turn helps increase access to, and“From Artist to Audience, a WIPO booklet produced in cooperation with the International Confederation of Societiesof Authors [and Composers] (CISAC) and the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO),aims to answer some of these questions by exploring one way in which the copyright and related rights systemworks, namely through the collective management of rights.”“From Artist to Audience (Publication No. 922) is available in PDF in English or French on the WIPO Free Publicationswebsite: www.wipo.int/freepublications/en/”Source: Excerpt from “From Artist to Audience — Collective Management of Copyright”, WIPO Magazine, January 2007. Available at:http://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2007/01/article_0004.html .6.9 Possible policy optionsenhances the enjoyment of, culture, knowledge and entertainmentall over the world. Ideally, under this system ofrights, rights owners are assured that their works can be disseminatedwithout fear of unauthorized use of their creativeand intellectual products. In practice, viable enforcement isoften a more critical issue than legal acknowledgement.Increasing awareness of the contribution and potential ofthe creative sector for development is a major task.Protecting copyright is a public-policy goal of countriesseeking sustained growth in the creative economy. The rich,intangible cultural heritage of many indigenous andlocal communities and developing countries is a source ofcreativity that should be tapped for the direct benefit ofthese communities and countries.According to WIPO, the inefficiency of intellectualproperty legislation and enforcement systems imperils theeconomic growth to which the creative industries contribute.Enforcement is as important as the education and awareness.Countries that wish to see their creative industries prospermust take a strong stance for the promotion of the fullspectrum of copyrights and their licences, for the best wayto expand the creative economy is to implement a balancedcopyright framework that realizes their development poten-186 CREATIVE ECONOMY REPORT 2010