Copyright and related rights in the Information Society and future EC action in this field will be the focus of an International Conference on "Copyright and Related Rights on the Threshold of the XXIst Century" in Florence, Italy on 2 - 4 June 1996, organised by the European Commission in co-operation with the Italian Presidency and the Tuscany Region. The event forms part of the consultation process which began in July 1995 with the adoption of the Commission's Green Paper on copyright and related rights in the Information Society. The conference will discuss the results of these consultations, which have established the need for further Community legislation in this area, and possible future EC action in a number of priority areas including the legal regime applicable to digital transmissions and reproduction rights. High level representatives of industry, the Member States, third countries including Central and Eastern European Countries, international organisations and rightholders will attend the conference. The July 1995 copyright Green Paper (see IP(95)798) was the first in a series of discussion documents concerning the Information Society that the Commission has since then issued or intends to issue. The Green Paper examines how best to ensure both an adequate level protection of creativity and the proper functioning of the Single Market, while taking account of the impact of developments such as digitalisation, interactivity and multimedia. For many of the new Information Society services, a critical mass of demand may exist within the Single Market as a whole, but not at the level of individual national markets. The existence of a Single Market for these services is therefore essential to their commercial viability. In turn, there needs to be a critical mass of demand from service providers before the substantial investments required in network infrastructure will be forthcoming. In other words, a Single Market for the new services is vital if the Information Society itself is to become a reality in Europe. Existing Community legislation on intellectual property rights (IPRs), recently completed with the adoption of Directive 96/91 on the legal protection of databases on March 11, already provides a robust foundation for the legal protection of works and other protected objects distributed over the information highway. However, there is also a range of other key issues not covered by existing Community IPR Directives. It is these issues which are examined in the Green Paper. In response to the Green Paper, the Commission received more than 350 submissions from interested parties. Adequate and strong protection of copyright and related rights is considered to be one of the keys to added value and competitiveness in European industry in such sectors as entertainment and information. The emergence of new technologies brings with it the prospect of vigorous expansion, particularly in the audiovisual, publishing and software sectors. It is therefore crucial for the Community to adapt and supplement the legal framework where necessary. EC action in priority areas The aim of the Conference is to discuss the conclusions which have merged from the consultation process and prospects for future EC action in a number of priority areas. The Commission intends to balance all of the interests involved, not only between rightholders, but also between rightholders and users of the relevant services. The conclusions of the Conference will be taken into account by the Commission in a Communication to the other institutions due in the Autumn of 1996. This document will detail the legislative action and any other appropriate action that the Commission intends to undertake in this field in response to the advent of the Information Society and the new technological environment. Progress needs also to be made in this field on an international level. An isolated response from the European Union will not be sufficient. As the Information Society has a global nature it requires global answers. The Conference will therefore provide an opportunity to stress the importance of co-operation to the development of the legislation on copyright and neighbouring rights at international level and also the need to reach, at international level, under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), an agreement to protect works and other matters (phonograms, audio and audiovisual performances) in the Information Society. ***
