2012 State of the Net Conference: Day 2 - The Clouding of Entertainment Media
Channel: Congressional Internet Caucus Academy
Date: 2012-01-20

2012 State of the Net Conference
Washington Hyatt Capitol Hill
January 17-18, 2012

Day 2 - General Session
The Clouding of Entertainment Media: The Challenges of Giving Consumers What They Want When and Where They Want It!

Panelists:
- Larry Downes, Consultant & Author
- Lee Knife, Digital Media Association (DiMA)
- Daniel Raimer, General Counsel, RapidShare
- Michael D. Smith, Professor of Information Systems and Marketing, Carnegie Mellon University

It's an exciting time for creators and consumers: Cloud technology has gone mainstream. Multiple high-profile "cloud" services have emerged from some of the leading technology companies in recent months, which allow users to store and access libraries of their content on massively distributed remote servers by using several different types of devices. More seem to be appearing day-by-day. From tablet Apps to streaming services to cloud lockers. Some of these services provide users access to content in ways that are indistinguishable from accessing locally stored music content (e.g. On the music front: Amazon's Cloud Drive, Google Music Store, Apple iCloud, etc). Policy thinkers are struggling with the legal framework for these services. Can the existing framework accomodate the blistering pace at which these services are rolling out? It's all new. These services are booming because they enable businesses to distribute and store large amounts of digital media, acquire new markets, and establish new models for monetizing content delivery. Our diverse panel of experts will debate and discuss the growth and future of the cloud model in the digital media era as well as what intellectual property and licensing issues lie on the horizon.

This is a widely attended event hosted by the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee (ICAC), part of a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization. The ICAC is a private sector organization comprised of public interest groups, trade associations, non-profits, and industry leaders. The diversity of ICAC membership ensures that all educational events and initiatives are fair and balanced forums for Internet-related discussion. The ICAC does not promote any particular policy position.