UKIPO and Universal Music join WIPO’s Creators initiative
The UK has become the first member state to sponsor the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Creators initiative.
WIPO for Creators is a public-private partnership aiming to ensure that creators globally are fairly rewarded for their work by increasing knowledge and awareness of IP rights.
WIPO announced that the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has joined the initiative on Friday, October 29. The office follows the Universal Music Group, which a day earlier became the programme’s first corporate sponsor.
Part of the initiative is Creators Platform, an online rights awareness platform aiming to support creators in a range of fields around the world by providing micro-learning videos, targeted content, and answers to questions as they arrive in real-time.
The scheme was launched by WIPO and Sweden-based Music Rights Awareness Foundation in 2020.
It has since welcomed numerous members and sponsors, including the International Authors Forum, International Confederation of Music Publishers, Independent Music Publishers International Forum, and the Societies’ Council for the Collective Management of Performers’ Rights.
However, Universal Music is the first corporate sponsor, a “critical” partnership for the initiative, said WIPO director general, Daren Tang.
“We look forward to working with Universal Music on involving other major players to make sure the benefits of WIPO for Creators are felt near and far,” said Tang.
As a sponsor, the Dutch-American music corporation will help to fund some of WIPO for Creators’ deliverables, such as the Creators Platform.
Jody Gerson, publishing group chairman and CEO of Universal Music, commented: “In partnering with Music Rights Awareness Foundation and WIPO as part of WIPO for Creators, we continue our mission of protecting songwriters while also increasing transparency around the rights process. As always, I encourage everyone, especially the music and arts communities, to stand with us in safeguarding creators and their IP rights.”
Meanwhile, the IPO’s sponsoring of the initiative represents the first instance in which a member state body has joined forces with the partnership.
Tang welcomed the IPO and expressed his hope that this will encourage other members states to join WIPO for Creators. He said it will support the growth of creative industries which, for many countries, is a key sector.
Tim Moss, CEO of the IPO, said that one of the reasons the UK has joined the initiative as a partner is because creators need access to the right information to help them make informed decisions.
“This exciting project aims to provide artists and others involved in the creative process globally with access to key information which will support them in their careers,” he commented. “We invite other member states to consider joining this important and timely initiative.”
Busy IPO
Last week, the IPO launched ten-week consultation on the extent to which patents and copyright should protect the inventions and creative works made by artificial intelligence (AI), as well as the measures which may make it easier to use copyright-protected material in AI development.
This follows a previous consultation that resulted in questions being raised about the balance between protecting human works and AI works, and the use of copyright material in machine learning. This consultation will seek the public’s views as to how this may be addressed.
Earlier this year, the IPO confirmed that IP is at the heart of the UK government’s new innovation strategy. It has also recently announced a five-year programme to transform its IP services and make the most of digital technology.
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