WIPO Director General Meets Top Spanish Officials, Spanish Creators
February 13, 2019
WIPO Director General Francis Gurry met on February 1, 2019 with Spain’s Minister of Culture José Guirao and Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Reyes Maroto for bilateral talks.
The Ministers emphasized the importance of intellectual property for their respective agendas. They were confident that collaboration with WIPO will contribute to further promoting creativity and innovation in Spain.
In Madrid, Mr. Gurry also addressed a conference grouping of some 120 Spanish creators hosted by the collective management organization for actors AISGE. The Director General, speaking to an audience of performers, directors, producers and publishers, emphasized the importance of data management to monetize the contributions of creators and preserve their integrity in the global market.
Goya Awards ceremony in Seville, Spain on February 2, 2019 and
met with Ms. Adriana Moscoso del Valle, Director General for Cultural
Industries and Cooperation (left) and Mr. Mariano Barroso, President
of the Spanish Cinematographic Academy (center)
(photo: Ministry of Culture, Spain).
In a discussion, many of the creators expressed a combination of hope and anxiety with regard to the evolution of the digital market for creative content – highlighting both the opportunities and the threats such as piracy and insufficient participation in the value chain for the distribution of creative content online.
The Director General said that WIPO is monitoring these developments such as through economic analysis studies, discussions in WIPO’s normative agenda and the Organization’s support to collective management societies.
On February 2, 2019 in Seville, Mr. Gury participated in the Goya film awards ceremony, the most important event for the Spanish cinematographic industry. On the sidelines of the ceremony, the Director General met with the President of the Spanish Cinematographic Academy, Mr. Mariano Barroso, as well as with film directors, actors and producers.
Mr. Gurry exchanged views with key stakeholders on the evolution of the film sector, as well as on the role of the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances to consolidate the position of performers in a global market. The Beijing Treaty strengthens the economic rights of film actors and other performers.