Napster News Means More Time Spent On Copyright Issues.

The Promotion Marketing Association (PMA) released the results of its annual industry trends survey taken at its 22st annual Promotion Law conference. At the largest conference of its kind, more than 400 attendees were asked to identify which issues they had devoted a high percentage of their time in 2000. Attorneys said that the issue of downloading music and the legal suits involving Napster, not only has brought the issue to the forefront of the public, but has also increased the amount of time the legal community focused on copyright issues. The survey results found 60% of attorneys and legal assistants spent more time on copyright issues this year than in the past

Survey results indicate that 62% of attendees estimate that more than 75% of their time is currently spent on Internet-related marketing issues. Last year, roughly the same percentage (60%) of conference attendees predicted they would spend less than 75% of their time on Internet-related marketing issues in 2000. The increase in actual time spent during 2000 relating to Internet-marketing stands in sharp contrast to estimates made as recently as 1998, in which 72% of respondents estimated that less than 25% of their time was spent on Internet marketing.

Attendees also indicated they are spending more time on e-mail marketing and international marketing issues than in previous years, with a quarter of attendees’ time dedicated to these issues. Firm attorneys seem even more heavily entrenched in e-mail marketing, with 44% of this group spending up to 75% of their time on that topic.

“The survey serves to remind us that the new economy has brought a number of practical and legal challenges for all involved in marketing issues,” said Christopher Lea, Conference Co-Chair.

“The Promotion Law conference serves as a vehicle for marketers and attorneys alike to expand their marketing platforms with advance knowledge of the obstacles that may face them, so they are best prepared to work within boundaries of the law,” added Lisa C. Rovinsky, Conference Co-Chair and Senior Marketing Counsel for The Coca-Cola Company.

For more information at http://www.pmalink.org .