 |
>>>>
CLICK HERE
to view the FULL VERSION of this report in
PDF format
|
THE ONE HUNDREDTH AMERICAN ASSEMBLY
February 7-10, 2002
Arden House
Harriman, New York
Art, Technology, and Intellectual Property
PREFACE
On
February 7, 2002, sixty-seven men and women gathered at
Arden House in Harriman, New York for the 100th American
Assembly entitled "Art, Technology, and Intellectual
Property." The participants included artists, attorneys,
foundation and government officials, representatives from
the academic and communications communities, as well as
from the for-profit and not-for-profit arts sectors. Consistent
with The American Assembly's format, the participants came
from across the country and represented a broad spectrum
of views and interests.
The premise of the meeting was that in the twenty-first
century transition to an information-driven economy, intellectual
property is a critical resource. Most sectors of American
society, including business, communications, government,
science, medicine, and education are racing to deal with
this new economy and to anticipate its consequences. The
arts sector is poised to join the other sectors, but first,
a closer examination of intellectual property issues is
essential. While the for-profit arts have actively pursued
their intellectual property interests and technological
opportunities, the not-for-profit arts have been less able
to secure a place at the policy and decision-making table.
Both parts of the arts sector share common concerns about
fostering creativity, but they often have different interests,
values, perspectives, and resources. At the 100th American
Assembly, leaders from the for-profit and not-for-profit
arts met in structured discussions to explore these issues
with authorities from other sectors, in the belief that
understanding both common causes and varying interests is
essential to the wise and productive development of America's
creative assets in the twenty-first century. This is their
report.
Alberta Arthurs, former director of Arts and Humanities
at The Rockefeller Foundation, and senior associate at MEM
Associates, and Frank Hodsoll, former chair of the National
Endowment for the Arts, and principal of Hodsoll and Associates,
served as co-chairs. Michael S. Shapiro, former General
Counsel of the National Endowment for the Humanities and
intellectual property consultant to arts organizations,
and Margaret J. Wyszomirski, professor and director of the
Arts Policy and Administration Program at The Ohio State
University, assisted in the design and structure of the
project, and wrote two papers, which served to focus the
issues. Andrew Blau, principal of Flanerie Works, and Andrew
Taylor, director of the Bolz Center for Arts Administration
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business,
joined the leadership and were invaluable in assisting in
the Assembly's design. The project also benefited greatly
from the advice and guidance of a distinguished steering
committee whose names and affiliations are listed in the
appendix of this report.
At the suggestion of the steering committee, and over a
twenty-month period, The Assembly held two day-and-a-half-long
meetings at Arden House to provide guidance and understanding
on two critical areas at the confluence of art, technology,
and intellectual property. The first focused on "The
Arts Disciplines" and was attended by thirty representatives
of various arts disciplines. The participants heard formal
addresses by Elise Bernhardt, Howard Besser, and Mary Beth
Peters. (Affiliations of these and other participants can
be found in the appendix of this report.) Following the
formal addresses, the participants listened to presentations
from representatives of the various arts disciplines about
the impact of technology and other issues. The participants
divided into discussion groups to continue their dialogue.
Later Messrs. Blau, Shapiro, and Taylor and Ms. Wyszomirski
reported back to the entire group on the findings of the
discussions.
The second day-and-a-half meeting focused on "Business
Models" and was also attended by thirty participants
who came together to discuss emerging models and how they
are adjusting to rapid technological change. The participants
heard formal addresses by Eric Scheirer, Andrew Blau, and
Connie Cranos, followed by a panel moderated by Bruce Polichar
and including Tod Cohen, Kevin Cunningham, Ann G. Kirschner,
Tom Roli, and Kathleen Clark as panelists. As with the prior
mini-Assembly, the participants were divided into two groups
for structured discussions. At the conclusion of those sessions,
Messrs. Blau and Taylor re ported the findings to the entire
group.
With
the success of these two meetings, and as the planning for
the national meeting grew near, the co-chairs scheduled
two day-long meetings with several participants from each
of the two mini-Assemblies and other experts both to refine
the issues and to set an agenda for the national Assembly.
The participants in these two meetings are noted in the
appendix.
For the national Assembly, Ms. Wyszomirski served as editor
of the volume of background reading for the participants.
This book is the first draft of a volume to be commercially
published. Its table of contents is printed on the inside
back cover of this report. Also, as part of this project,
Mr. Shapiro was commissioned to write a book-length manuscript
tentatively titled, The Cultural Bargain: Arts, Copyright,
and the Public Inteerst, which is intended for publication.
These materials will extend the discussions that took place
at Arden House.
During the 100th American Assembly, participants heard a
panel presentation and two keynote addresses, which provided
additional background and informed their discussions. The
panel built on much of the research gathered prior to the
national meeting and set the parameters for the meeting.
The panelists were Messrs. Blau, Shapiro, Taylor, and Ms.
Wyszomirski. The two addresses were given by Debora L. Spar,
professor at Harvard Business School and Lawrence Lessig,
professor of law at Stanford University.
On February 10, 2002 the participants reviewed as a group
the draft report, which contained their findings and recommendations.
Their adopted draft of the report is available on the arts
and culture section of The American Assembly's web site
(www. americanassembly.org) along with reports from The
Assembly's other arts projects. Visitors to the web site
can also view the presentations by Professors Spar and Lessig,
which were videotaped for this purpose by Streaming Culture,
a project at the New Media Lab of the Graduate Center of
the City University of New York.
It should be understood that in this report the Assembly
defined the arts inclusively, as it did in its 1997 report
"The Arts and the Public Purpose," which identified
the arts as representing "…a spectrum from commercial
to not-for-profit to volunteer, resisting the conventional
dichotomies of high and low, fine and folk, professional
and amateur, pop and classic…" and "…including
the whole spectrum of artistic activity in the United States-from
Sunday school Christmas pageants to symphony orchestras
to fashion design to blockbuster movies . "
We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of The Rockefeller
Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, The David and Lucile
Packard Foundation, The AT&T Foundation, AOL Time Warner,
The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, and eBay. We owe our special
gratitude to the project's co-chairs, Alberta Arthurs and
Frank Hodsoll, for their leadership in every aspect of this
project. We would like to express our appreciation for the
fine work of the discussion leaders and rapporteurs, who
guided participants in their sessions and prepared the first
draft of this report: Andrew Blau, Jeffrey Cunard, Kenneth
Hamma, Ellen McCulloch-Lovell, Andrew Taylor, and Caroline
Williams, and to Michael Shapiro and Margaret Wyszomirski
for the work that they also did in bringing the report and
this project to completion.
The American Assembly takes no position on any subjects
presented here for public discussion. In addition, it should
be noted the participants took part in this meeting as individuals
and spoke for themselves rather than for the organizations
and institutions with which they are affiliated.
David
H. Mortimer
The American Assembly
