Lord Puttnam of Queensgate (Labour). AKA David Puttnam. He is also a film producer and president of UNICEF. Former chancellor of the University of Sunderland and current chancellor of the Open University.

Lord Puttnam gave a keynote speech at the Virtual Worlds Forum (mp3) Virtual worlds – media, entertainment, narrative: a radical shift from passive to interactive?

The main point the speech covers, and to which I’d very much like to draw your attention, is that a generous interpretation of ‘open access’ to IP is, or should be, at the heart of both our own education system, and our broader policies towards international development.

Public benefit, above private gain, must be the guiding principle that informs the use of content that is financed in whole or in part through the public purse. ....

Here in the UK we possess a truly extraordinary depth and breadth of intellectual resource which, if made more freely available, could be used to the benefit of citizens the length and breadth of the country ...

As president of UNICEF here in the UK I’m keenly aware that this whole issue of how we treat intellectual property has enormous implications for our relationship with the developing world.

Links

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Lord Puttnam Wikipedia

News

2009-10-25 - IT PRO - Lord Puttnam: Why Digital Economy Bill is right move: Author: Benny Har-Even; Summary: Following the government's announcement of the Digital Economy bill last week, which described radical measures for dealing with persistent file sharers, Labour peer Lord Puttnam has laid out his full support for the controversial bill. "I believe that many of the proposals set out in the Digital Economy bill and the government's plans for broadband more generally, set the right direction of travel," Puttnam said, speaking at a panel discussion in London yesterday on the future of digital cinema in the UK." Puttnam claimed that with the move to digital projection, the UK film industry had a crucial role to play in creating a digital Britain.

2007-10-25 - ars technica - British Lord: Virtual worlds should teach real-world values: Author: Nate Anderson; Summary: Puttnam has had a long history in media, winning Oscars for his work with films like Chariots of Fire and serving as the head of Columbia Pictures for years. He now sits in the House of Lords, and his views on media carry significant weight. ... "Why wouldn't a personal paradise become addictive?" ... Regulatory issues also surround virtual worlds. ... Identity and communications ... "Are we absolutely sure that this is the very best we can offer young people?" he asked. "Do we really want them to think of themselves as not that much more than consumers?"

2007-10-24 - Guardian - Puttnam: Broadcasting is only "half an industry": Author: Jemima Kiss; Summary: Lord Puttnam today opened the Virtual Worlds Forum in London by saying that broadcast "is only half an industry", and needs to do more to match viewers' default expectation for interaction. ... Issues about whether income in virtual worlds should be taxed and the "human rights" of avatars would only become more pressing, but he said the highest priority must be the safety and privacy of children.

2002-06-13 - BBC - Government 'must curb BT': Summary: Plans to relax media law to promote competition will not work unless the government gets tough with BT at the same time, MPs have been warned. ... The Joint Communications Committee, which is chaired by film producer Lord Puttnam, also heard from Microsoft, AOL and other leading players in the industry. There were several calls for stronger assurances from the government that it will not regulate internet content.

2002-05-23 - BBC - Internet users 'help shape laws': Summary: Members of the public had the chance to use the internet to help shape new laws in a pilot scheme launched on Thursday. ... The committee, which was chaired by leading film director Lord David Puttnam, will hear on Thursday from the Independent Television Commission, the Broadcasting Standards Commission and the Radio Authority.

1999-08-22 - BBC - BT and UK.gov hamper Net: Summary: Lord Puttnam will be World Internet Forum chairman and the conference will be held in September next year at Oxford University.

1999-08-17 - The Register Britain to host major Net summit: Author: Tim Richardson; Summary: The UK is to stage a high level international summit next year to discuss how governments can use the Internet to deliver key public services. A thousand delegates from the G8 group of industrialised nations, developing economies and major trading blocs around the world will attend the World Internet Forum (WIF) at Oxford University in September 2000. Film director Lord Puttnam will chair the summit.

1998-10-30 - BBC - UK Interactive industry comes of age: Summary: The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta), which hosts the UK equivalents of the Oscars and Emmys, staged its first Interactive Entertainment awards ceremony - with BBC News Online winning in the News and Magazine category. Lord Puttnam, who is Vice President of Bafta and conceived the idea for the new awards, compared the acceptance of CD Rom and Website designers by the academy with the incorporation of television 40 years ago.