We have added another panel session to the Copyright and Technology London 2013 conference, which will take place next Thursday (17 October).  The most important recent copyright litigation in the UK at the moment is the case of Ministry of Sound v. Spotify, in which the record label is objecting to Spotify making playlists available that mimic the compilation albums for which the label is best known.  The case has broad implications for the limits of copyrightability in the digital age, at least under UK law.

Here is the panel description:

The Limits of Copyright in the Digital Age

The litigation that Ministry of Sound recently started against Spotify will test whether playlists on compilation albums have copyright protection.  It will be played out in the context of the debate about to what extent we as a society are prepared to pay for curation. The same issue faces news-disseminating organisations over their headlines and sports reporters over game highlights. Does our society value the editorial/quality control/validation role that they play? This panel will explore the boundaries of what is – and should be – protected by copyright in the digital age and suggest what directions legal decisions in the future may take.

Although the case was only filed a month ago, we have been able to pull together an excellent group of authorities on both the legal and content aspects of the matter, thanks to the tireless efforts of Serena Tierney of Bircham Dyson Bell, the panel chair and herself an authority on copyright in the digital age.  Panelists will include:

• Jeff Smith, Head of Music at BBC Radio 2 and 6; former Director of Music Programming at Napster
• Mo McRoberts, Head of the BBC Genome Project at the BBC Archive
• Lindsay Lane, Barrister at 8 New Square Intellectual Property and co-author of the standard copyright treatise Laddie, Prescott and Vitoria on The Modern Law of Copyright and Designs
• Andrew Orlowski, Executive Editor of The Register, who has covered this case.

This means that we will have a packed day of exciting sessions from all around the world of copyright.  Places are still left, so register today!