The Museums Copyright Group brought together key industry figures from the arts, industry and media at a one-day conference to discuss the future of copyright for the arts and heritage.

Organised jointly with King’s College, London and hosted by the National Gallery, the Connecting Culture and Commerce: Getting the Right Balance conference covered several current issues including the Treasury-commissioned Gowers Review of Intellectual Property as well as the decision by the Victoria and Albert Museum to make parts of their photographic collections freely available.

Among the industry figures speaking at the conference were:

• Sandy Nairne, National Portrait Gallery Director;
• Alan Yentob, Broadcast guru;
• Alex Beard, Tate Deputy Director;
• Professor Charles Oppenheim, Head of Information Services, Loughborough University;
• Gretchen Wagner, ARTStor Legal Counsel;
• Tony Travers, Economist
• Peter Wienand, Partner in Intellectual Property, Farrer & Co and Chair of the Museums Copyright Group.

The conference is the first in a programme of activities coordinated by the Museums Copyright Group aimed at achieving a fair deal for the UK’s museums and art galleries in the current shake-up of copyright legislation.

Peter Wienand commented,

“The management and use of copyright material is one of the most important challenges for today’s Creative Industries. Museums are not alone in having to balance the need to generate income with the need to deliver core services. As the Government focuses more and more on the use of Intellectual Property to support the knowledge economy, this Conference has given us an opportunity to ensure that we are ready to face the challenges to come.”