• The British Literary and

    Artistic Copyright Association

     

    The British Literary & Artistic Copyright Association, BLACA,

    is the UK national group of the International Literary and Artistic Association (ALAI)

    founded in Paris in 1878 under the Presidency of Victor Hugo.

     

    It provides a forum for discussion of matters affecting the rights of authors and other copyright owners.

  • 'Defining ‘limitations’ and ‘exceptions’ in Article 13 TRIPS: Time for international clarity’?

     

    30 November 2023

    6 pm for 6.15 pm (sharp)

    Bristows LLP

    100 Victoria Embankment

    London EC4Y 0DH

    (In person)

     

    BLACA member James Parish is Lecturer in Intellectual Property and Information Law at the Dickson Poon School of Law, KCL. He holds a BA in Animation & Film Production, as well as law bachelors and masters degrees. He is a solicitor qualified in England & Wales. James will share with us his recent research on classification of exceptions and limitations to copyright and the practical implications of this work.

     

    Chair:

    Brigitte Lindner

    Vice-Chairman, BLACA

    New York - Paris - London

     

    16th November 2023

    6 for 6.15pm

    Reed Smith

    Broadgate Tower

    20 Primrose Street

    London EC2A 2RS

    (In person)

     

    Two speakers who presented at the June ALAI Congress on'Copyright, related rights and artificial intelligence' in Paris - Prof Jane
    Ginsburg and Sophie Goossens - have kindly confirmed as speakers for our
    November BLACA seminar. They will bring discussions and insights from the Paris
    meeting to BLACA members and consider some recent developments in US case law, which were unfolding in June. We are grateful to Reed Smith for hosting this meeting.

    Speakers:

    Prof Jane Ginsburg is Morton L. Janklow Professor ofLiterary and Artistic Property Law at Columbia University School of Law, New
    York, ALAI Vice-President, and a member of ALAI’s Bureau and Executive
    Committee. She is author with Sam Ricketson of International Copyright andNeighbouring Rights: The Berne Convention and Beyond (3rd ed2022, OUP) and many other scholarly works on copyright.

    BLACA member Sophie Goossens is a dual-qualified partner(France and England & Wales) in Reed Smith's Entertainment and Media
    Industry Group. She taught International & European Copyright law at
    Faculté Jean Monnet, Université Paris-Saclay for two years. She is lead author
    of Reed Smith’s Entertainment & Media Guide to AI (2023) andcontributor to the Reed Smith Guide to the Metaverse (2022).

    Chair: Alison Firth (BLACA Chairman)

     

     

     

     

    Moral rights in our contemporary landscape

     

    12 October 2023

    6 for 6.15pm

    Kings College London, Somerset House, East Wing, WC2R 2LS

    (In person)

     

     

    A new research handbook on moral rights, edited by Prof Ysolde Gendreau, has just been published by Edward Elgar. We are delighted that Prof Gendreau and BLACA members who have contributed to the work will be sharing highlights and insights at our October meeting. As reviewer Peter Yu has put it “This volume could not have been published at a more opportune time when there are growing demands for greater protections for authenticity, artistic integrity and creative agency. It shows why moral rights protection not only is of contemporary relevance but also deserves our renewed attention.”

     

    Chairman: Alison Firth, BLACA Chairman

     

    Confirmed speakers: Ysolde Gendreau, Gillian Davies, Brigitte Lindner, Paul Torremans

     

    Ysolde Gendreau is professor of Law at the Université de Montréal, Canada, where she teaches intellectual property law. She was president of ALAI Canada from 2006 to 2011 and is an active member of ALAI, sitting on its Executive Board and Bureau as a Vice-President.

     

    Gillian Davies is a barrister and professor of International & EU Intellectual Property Law at QMUL’s Centre for Commercial Law Studies. She a past chairman of BLACA and was a member of ALAI’s Executive Board for many years.

     

    Brigitte Lindner, BLACA vice-chair, is a barrister, qualified in England and Wales, and at the Berlin bar. She has experience of working in international organisations and copyright industry bodies, as well as private practice.

     

    Paul Torremans is professor of Intellectual Property Law at the University of Nottingham and co-director of its Commercial Law Centre. He is a past Chairman of BLACA and has a personal seat on ALAI’s Executive Board as a co-opted member.

     

    The absence of sunset: The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill and its effect on copyright (and other) law

     

    13th July 2023, 6.15pm

    Bristows LLP

    100 Victoria Embankment

    London EC4Y 0DH

    (In person)

     

    The proposed ‘sunsetting’ of EU-derived legislation in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill) has been much curtailed, but the Bill remains significant as a further repainting of the post-Brexit landscape. Professor Johnson will discuss how the legislation, including the end of “retained” EU supremacy, may work in the future and how it fits with the general implementation of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement and other UK Free Trade Agreements.

     

    Speaker: 

    Professor Phillip Johnson

    Professor Johnson is a barrister and professor of commercial law at Cardiff Law School. As well as intellectual property and related areas of law, he has research interests in legal and parliamentary history, public law and private international law (the subject of his doctoral thesis). He was formerly a lawyer in the Government legal service, advising the Intellectual Property Office. He is a qualified arbitrator and sits as an Appointed Person to hear trade mark and design appeals from the Office. Since 2022, he has been editor of Intellectual Property Quarterly.

     

    Chair: Alison Firth (Chairman, BLACA)

  • Follow us on X (formerly known as Twitter)

  • broken image

    Membership

    The annual subscription is £50. This covers attendance at all the regular meetings and entitles members to a substantial discount on the fee for joint BLACA seminars. BLACA members are automatically members of ALAI with entitlement to discounted fees to attend its international Congresses and Study Days each year and to receive free copies of the proceedings (A special registration fee is available for registered students). Enquiries to Simon Clark.

  • Contact us

    Professor Alison Firth, Chairman:
    alison.firth@newcastle.ac.uk

     

    Vice Chairmen:

    Stephen Edwards

    Brigitte Lindner

     

    Simon Clark, Secretary:
    Bristows
    simon.clark@bristows.com
    tel: 020 7400 8000

     

    Dr Maria Mercedes Frabboni, Honorary Treasurer:
    m.m.frabboni@sussex.ac.uk

     

  • Directions

    Seminars in presence will be held at Bristows,
    100 Victoria, Embankment, EC4Y 0DH