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Jean-Michel Jarre speaks up for creators on World Intellectual Property Day

By | Published on Monday 27 April 2015

Jean Michel Jarre

So it was World Intellectual Property Day yesterday. Did you have a party?

Well, if you happened to allow the whole thing pass by without even adding a copyright symbol to your tweets, why not catch up now by reading this statement put out by Jean-Michel Jarre in his guise as President of CISAC, the global body for author rights collecting societies worldwide? The electronic music pioneer called on governments across the world to ensure they are safeguarding creator rights.

Said Jarre: “The article 27(2) of the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations’ General Assembly in 1948, states that, ‘Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author’. These words are as valid now as they were 70 years ago”.

“Culture is what brings people together”, he goes on. “And is the expression of the cultural diversity that is so cherished by the United Nations and UNESCO. Access to culture is paramount to the elevation of mankind. It goes hand in hand with freedom of speech and freedom to create. Equally important in our eyes are the rights of creators. Without these moral and economic rights, creators would be deprived of ways to sustain a living and continue to create freely, and would also lose control over the use of their works”.

“But for this to happen, creators need to be granted fair remuneration for the use of their creative works. In the music sector, we have launched the Fair Trade Music project to address this issue. In the visual arts sector, we are asking for an international treaty on the artist’s resale right under the aegis of WIPO”.

He concluded: “Sustainable creative eco-systems depend on the recognition that creative works bring value to so many businesses that would not exist without them. In return, what we, creators, are asking is simple: to be fairly compensated for the use of our works and to be protected for our rights. We are calling upon all the countries represented at the United Nations to endorse our pledge, and work with creators all around the world to ensure a better future for authors”.

And if that got you in the mood for World Intellectual Property Day related polemics, here’s a blog post I wrote ahead of speaking to Middlesex University students yesterday, who staged an evening of music and other creative endeavours to mark IP Day.



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