LONDON, UK.- Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell and Trade and Industry Secretary, Patricia Hewitt today gave Government backing to a major pan-European conference on Intellectual Property (IP), which will seek to find 21st century solutions to protect our creativity, ideas and innovation.

The Creative Economy conference on the 5–7 October, will bring together industry, consumers, creators and policy makers from across Europe to explore ways of placing creativity at the heart of our economies and will highlight the absolute necessity of protecting Europe's intellectual property. It will be held under the auspices of the UK's EU Presidency and has the support of the European Commission.

The conference will focus on five key themes – education, creativity, business opportunities, enforcement and access. There will also be a showcase of British talent.

Tessa Jowell said: "The old days when the guardianship of our creativity and ideas was relatively straightforward are gone forever and intellectual property has become more important than ever in all areas of the economy.

"We need to raise our game to secure the future of our creative industries and fight against our old adversary – piracy. But we really need to find ways of tackling this established enemy on new fronts with fresh tactics.

"Last year we set up the Creative Industries Forum on Intellectual Property, a cross Government body which looks at ways of meeting the opportunities and threats that rapidly improving technology is generating.

"This conference will take that one step further and pull in experts from further a field. We know we cannot work alone - this is a global challenge which needs a global solution. That's why we're teaming up with our European neighbours, to make sure we can all compete on a worldwide stage."

Patricia Hewitt said: "Creative Economy is a vital area of strength and growth for both the UK and Europe. Integral to its future is an effective and balanced intellectual property regime giving fair rewards to creators and creative businesses whilst delivering a good deal for consumers. The conference will address the key issues head on."

The UK's creative industries, the fastest growing sector in the UK, are worth £53.4 billion per year. Industry estimates the cost of IP crime is £11 billion a year. All areas of business are susceptible to IP theft as ideas and ways of finding new solutions become ever more vital to all corners of our economy.