AAP Announces Speakers and Topics for Its Annual Meeting, February 28

Washington, DC and New York, NY; January 24, 2013 – With a focus on “Innovative Solutions for Historic Challenges,” the Association of American Publishers 2013 General Annual Meeting will feature speakers who are addressing longstanding industry issues with new strategies that are creative, novel, sometimes provocative and always thoughtful.

AAP’s annual event will be held on Thursday, February 28 at the McGraw-Hill Conference Center, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, 9:00am-1:00pm. General registration here (Media details below)

The keynote address will be presented by The Honorable Olympia Snowe, who retired from the United States Senate this month after a nearly four-decade career in public service including Senator from Maine, 1995-2013. Sen. Snowe will speak on “Overcoming Partisanship in Congress.”

The day will begin with the AAP Annual Business Meeting and Member budget approval.

Other topics and speakers include to date:

“Going Global: Opportunities and Threats to Book Commerce and Copyright"
As US publishers are more active in the international marketplace than ever before, piracy and other threats continue, often aided by lax foreign copyright protections. What the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United Nations agency dedicated to IP, is doing to protect the priorities of content creators. Speaker is Michele Woods, Director, Copyright Law Division for the Culture and Creative Industry Sector, WIPO.

“The Copyright Hub: Developing a Global Digital Copyright Exchange”
With the goal of streamlining digital copyright licensing on behalf of all stakeholders, the British content industries are developing The Copyright Hub, a groundbreaking rights marketplace. Richard Mollet, Chief Executive of The Publishers Association (UK) and one of The Copyright Hub’s lead architects, explains how the concept will improve access while protecting creators and its potential for global participation.

The AAP business meeting will include remarks from Ron Dunn, Executive Chairman, Cengage Learning and Chair, AAP Board of Directors; and Tom Allen, President and CEO, AAP. Drake McFeely, Chairman and President, W.W. Norton & Company and Treasurer, AAP Board of Directors, will preside over the member organizations’ budget approval.