Periodic Reporting for period 4 - CREATIVE IPR (The History of Intellectual Property Rights in the Creative Industries)
Période du rapport: 2024-03-01 au 2025-07-31
CREATIVE IPR examines how the creative industries have used intellectual property historically. The period studied in the project extends from the signature of the Paris Convention on industrial property in 1883 and of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in 1886 to the present. Intellectual property rights are a group of rights that include copyright, trademark, patent, industrial design, to which are often added fair competition, anti-trust, and trade secrets. CREATIVE IPR examines the meaning of intellectual property rights for creators, publics, and administrations in twentieth century Europe and their global reach. The project seeks to understand who captured economic value from intellectual property, and which actors failed to do so. In order to answer these questions, CREATIVE IPR examines the macro and the micro aspects of the management of intellectual property rights.
CREATIVE IPR pursues the questions in three arenas. The first arena is the formation and impact of national and international institutions and organizations for intellectual property. The second arena is the role of intellectual property rights in the arts of the stage and music. The third arena is the place of intellectual property in the fashion, design, and luxury industries. For each arena, the researchers in the project are examining five cross-cutting themes: authorship and creativity, firms and business history, technological change and innovation, legal frameworks, and the role of the commons or the public domain. Each of these themes is the focus of one of the project's workshops, and in addition two international conferences bring the transversal themes and work packages together.
CREATIVE IPR examines the micro level of the creators, and the macro level of international organizations in work package 2. The specificities of the implementation of intellectual property in the creative industries however, do not always appear in the history of the international conventions and their management by international organisations. Research in CREATIVE IPR also includes a meso level, examining the implementation of intellectual property by European countries internationally and historically, for instance in the case of colonies. The meso level provides an understanding of which varieties of intellectual property rights created opportunities for the creative industries. An important observation in the project is that copyright offered some space of opportunity for lesser-represented creators, but that patents did not offer similar opportunities.
Research in the project shows that although music and the arts of the stage (the focus of work package 3) are considered to be "copyright industries" heavily relying upon intellectual property rights as a source of revenue and ownership, those industries have been vulnerable to technological change and recently, to the Covid-19 pandemic. Conversely, the fashion and luxury industries, examined in work package 4, are often thought to make lesser use of intellectual property. CREATIVE IPR results nuance this point, showing that fashion and luxury entrepreneurs have used a variety of intellectual property rights in a comprehensive manner.
CREATIVE IPR pursues the questions in three arenas. The first arena is the formation and impact of national and international institutions and organizations for intellectual property. The second arena is the role of intellectual property rights in the arts of the stage and music. The third arena is the place of intellectual property in the fashion, design, and luxury industries. For each arena, the researchers in the project are examining five cross-cutting themes: authorship and creativity, firms and business history, technological change and innovation, legal frameworks, and the role of the commons or the public domain. Each of these themes is the focus of one of the project's workshops, and in addition two international conferences bring the transversal themes and work packages together.
CREATIVE IPR examines the micro level of the creators, and the macro level of international organizations in work package 2. The specificities of the implementation of intellectual property in the creative industries however, do not always appear in the history of the international conventions and their management by international organisations. Research in CREATIVE IPR also includes a meso level, examining the implementation of intellectual property by European countries internationally and historically, for instance in the case of colonies. The meso level provides an understanding of which varieties of intellectual property rights created opportunities for the creative industries. An important observation in the project is that copyright offered some space of opportunity for lesser-represented creators, but that patents did not offer similar opportunities.
Research in the project shows that although music and the arts of the stage (the focus of work package 3) are considered to be "copyright industries" heavily relying upon intellectual property rights as a source of revenue and ownership, those industries have been vulnerable to technological change and recently, to the Covid-19 pandemic. Conversely, the fashion and luxury industries, examined in work package 4, are often thought to make lesser use of intellectual property. CREATIVE IPR results nuance this point, showing that fashion and luxury entrepreneurs have used a variety of intellectual property rights in a comprehensive manner.
CREATIVE IPR collaborative work on the sources on the history of intellectual property in the creative industries has resulted in a collective bibliography including secondary literature.
The internationalization of intellectual property rights in the creative industries is central to WP2. Research in a variety of archives has examined the history of international associations such as BIRPI, WIPO, UNESCO, and the EUIPO beyond the state of the art. Further works have examined cases of international implementation of intellectual property through the legal transplants operated by Belgium in the Congo, France in Algeria, and Great-Britain in India. Several articles, book chapters, one dissertation, one book and public dissemination result from this strand of the project (WP2)
WP3 has focused on the music industry and the arts of the stage. Project members have examined the archives of collective management societies and other repositories, shedding light on performing rights, and evaluating the impact of technological changes. Results are published in one dissertation, one book and several articles and book chapters, as well as public dissemination.
Research in WP4, focusing on the fashion and luxury industries has resulted in a reevaluation of the place of intellectual property in those industries, highlighting their strategic importance and the use of diverse portfolios of intellectual property rights. One monograph, two anthologies, several chapters and articles, and public dissemination result from this part of the project.
CREATIVE IPR has allowed to reevaluate the relative importance of intellectual property across different creative industries, and to show that certain varieties of intellectual property offered greater opportunities than others for emerging creators.
The internationalization of intellectual property rights in the creative industries is central to WP2. Research in a variety of archives has examined the history of international associations such as BIRPI, WIPO, UNESCO, and the EUIPO beyond the state of the art. Further works have examined cases of international implementation of intellectual property through the legal transplants operated by Belgium in the Congo, France in Algeria, and Great-Britain in India. Several articles, book chapters, one dissertation, one book and public dissemination result from this strand of the project (WP2)
WP3 has focused on the music industry and the arts of the stage. Project members have examined the archives of collective management societies and other repositories, shedding light on performing rights, and evaluating the impact of technological changes. Results are published in one dissertation, one book and several articles and book chapters, as well as public dissemination.
Research in WP4, focusing on the fashion and luxury industries has resulted in a reevaluation of the place of intellectual property in those industries, highlighting their strategic importance and the use of diverse portfolios of intellectual property rights. One monograph, two anthologies, several chapters and articles, and public dissemination result from this part of the project.
CREATIVE IPR has allowed to reevaluate the relative importance of intellectual property across different creative industries, and to show that certain varieties of intellectual property offered greater opportunities than others for emerging creators.
CREATIVE IPR does research on the history of the intellectual property in the creative industries. The method used is historical. All project members examine complementary aspects of this history through research in unpublished archives (archives of the states, of organizations, of courts, and of firms) and in printed sources. Progress beyond the state of the art has been registered in the three arenas of the project, allowing for new insights in the domains of the history of the institutional frameworks for the organization of intellectual property, and in both domains studied in the project (music and the arts of the stage, and fashion, textile and luxury industries).
The CREATIVE IPR team works on comparative and connected histories of European intellectual property in a globalizing world. Comparative histories take two directions in CREATIVE IPR. The first direction is international. Research in unpublished archives contributes to the project's objective of writing the history of the internationalization of intellectual property rights. Furthermore, the examination of the history of intellectual property systems implemented by imperial powers in their colonies allows for a nuanced understanding of the dynamics of internationalization, through three cases: Belgium and the Congo, France and Algeria, Great Britain and India. The second direction allows for research on the history of intellectual property between various fields of creativity. The cases examined in the project allow to underline the relevance of copyright to new entrants, while other varieties of intellectual property rights, such as patent for instance, remained lesser used by those actors.
The CREATIVE IPR team works on comparative and connected histories of European intellectual property in a globalizing world. Comparative histories take two directions in CREATIVE IPR. The first direction is international. Research in unpublished archives contributes to the project's objective of writing the history of the internationalization of intellectual property rights. Furthermore, the examination of the history of intellectual property systems implemented by imperial powers in their colonies allows for a nuanced understanding of the dynamics of internationalization, through three cases: Belgium and the Congo, France and Algeria, Great Britain and India. The second direction allows for research on the history of intellectual property between various fields of creativity. The cases examined in the project allow to underline the relevance of copyright to new entrants, while other varieties of intellectual property rights, such as patent for instance, remained lesser used by those actors.