Regulation of Intellectual Property in Spain and AI as an Employment Engine: 5 Keys from the European Congress of San Sebastián
The city of San Sebastián hosted this Sunday the third edition of the European conference Leading the Audiovisual of the Future, an event framed within the San Sebastián Film Festival and promoted by the Ministry for Digital Transformation and the Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence. The forum brought together executives, government representatives, and international figures to reflect on the challenges of the European audiovisual sector and the opportunities for Spain.
The event focused on two main axes: the role of artificial intelligence in creating employment within the audiovisual sector and the urgency of establishing a stronger regulation for the protection of intellectual property rights of Spanish creators.
Among the most notable messages, María González Veracruz, Secretary of State for Digitalisation and AI, emphasised the consolidation of the meeting as a strategic space and pointed out that “Spain is the most successful non-English speaking country in producing audiovisual content in Europe.” For his part, Ignasi Camós, director of the ICAA, defended the need to strengthen creative, technical, and production talent at the national level, while also promoting participation in international coproductions to compete globally.
The debate also addressed the threat of cultural homogenisation arising from the weight of large international platforms, as well as the concern of the European Producers Club regarding future community regulation AgoraEU 2028-2034, which could weaken independent European production.
In this context, Helena Suárez Jaqueti, partner at ECIJA and founder of E-LAB, intervened to highlight the legal complexity that coproductions present within the European Union, where normative differences between countries hinder the viability of international projects. “Each legislation imposes different requirements, which complicates European platforms from simultaneously reaching different markets,” she noted.
Other speakers emphasised the importance of ensuring that IP rights remain in the hands of Spanish creators. Alfonso Blanco, president of the Galician Audiovisual Cluster, called for a law that grants security to authors and allows for the establishment of a competitive funding framework. Likewise, the need to improve distribution, both at the national and international levels, was warned about to enhance the presence of European productions against the hegemony of American studios.
The meeting concluded with a consensus: Spain must advance towards a European model of audiovisual cooperation that combines technological innovation, especially in AI, with a robust legal framework in intellectual property, capable of guaranteeing both cultural diversity and the global competitiveness of the industry.
Check the published article in Variety.
