DACS celebrates British IP Day
Today DACS is celebrating British IP Day and the huge contribution that Intellectual Property (IP) and copyright makes to the UK, culturally and economically.
Celebrating Creativity and Innovation across the regions
Alongside our colleagues the Alliance for Intellectual Property, earlier today we had positive meetings with George Freeman MP, the Minister responsible for IP policy and Chi Onwurah MP, the Shadow Minister for IP where we discussed lots of issues and solutions that could help creators and the wider creative sector.
Later today, we will be attending a reception in the House of Commons, hosted by Rt John Whittingdale OBE MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Intellectual Property and Pete Wishart MP, Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Intellectual Property. The reception will be attended by Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum and will hear from creators and business leaders as to why valuing and protecting IP is so vital for UK economic growth.
Chi Onwurah will hear from the award-winning author behind Vera and Shetland, Ann Cleeves OBE; a great example of how IP-rich creativity can have such an amazing impact on people’s lives. Vera has been sold in over 200 territories and each four-episode series employs 1200 people, many of whom are from the North East. Since Shetland was first shown, tourism in the islands has increased by 43% which has become progressively more important to the Island’s economy as oil-based income reduced.
Enabling culture to drive social regeneration
On British IP Day we’re also celebrating the campaign for the Smart Fund, an innovative and collaborative solution to drive cultural investment all over the country, benefitting local people and the national economy.
The Smart Fund will use a small portion of the sale price of electronic devices that allow people to copy, store, and share creative content to fund artists and other creators. It is a proposal that does not add additional cost to consumers but requires technology manufacturers to contribute financially towards sustaining culture.
Generating up to £250-300 million a year for the cultural industries, the Fund would not only directly benefit creators financially, but also establish a creative community fund that can support innovative collaborations between artists and communities
Working with the tech industry and innovators in this sector, we want to support creators and performers, to rebuild and enable the UK’s world leading cultural heritage, tourism, and creative industries and contribute to its soft power and international standing. The arts provide sustenance to the engine room of cultural regeneration, recovery and renewal for the whole country.
Chief Executive of DACS
