Brussels, 26/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - New trade models are needed to expand the European audiovisual market and meet future challenges, said Hungarian Info-Communication minister Zsolt Nyitrai at a conference on the future of the audiovisual industry in Europe in Budapest on 19-21 April 2011. He said it was important that the new models did not penalise artists or consumers. At the conference, experts discussed competitiveness, the impact of new developments on economic and social stakeholders and the problem of copyright and intellectual property in the digital world.
'You must pay for content, but authors and consumers should not be confronted,' said Nyitrai. He added that despite their apparent differences, the interests of both authors and consumers were the same - to make products reach as many consumers as possible. Discussion at the conference revealed that new technology to convert old music and films to digital format without lessening their quality can help protect Europe's cultural heritage. The European Commission, represented by Deputy Director General of DG Information Society and Media, Antti Ilmari Peltomäki, talked about the wide range of audiovisual supply, pointing out that people can surf or watch television online twenty-four hours a day. According to Peltomaki, the two keywords of he audiovisual world are digitalisation and convergence because 'You can access virtually anything, at any time, in any place and by any device.' The Deputy Director General delivered a short presentation on the audiovisual media services directive, which aims to encourage the spread of modern technology to ensure professional opportunities, durability and social integration in the EU. (I.L./transl.fl)