A Nordic consortium has studied obstacles and opportunities with intellectual property (IP) laws in the region. The project is part of Nordic Innovation’s efforts to strengthen the competitiveness of the Nordic cultural and creative industries (CCI) in a global perspective.
“In licensing, the creative industries can learn from the best practices form other creative areas,” Professor Torsten Bjørn Larsen from Aalborg University explains.
The report strongly recommends that the Nordic countries minimise the national differences in the interpretation of IPRs. While IP laws are to a large extent similar, neighbouring rights (the rights of a performer, producer or developer after their product has been commercially released) are very fragmented. This creates unnecessary obstacles for the CCI actors.
“It seems generally quite random when a thing is protected and when it is not”.
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Moreover, the study suggest that the Nordic countries harmonise their IP laws and licensing policies further than the European Union has been able to do so far. This will reduce the uncertainty for the industrial actors and enhance the integration of the region.
Deepening Nordic collaboration
The consortium included academic partners in Finland, Denmark, and Sweden.
“The discussions and research work increased interaction and understanding between Nordic universities, businesses and other organisations. We created basis for deepening Nordic collaboration and for the Nordic single markets,” Research Director of IPR University Center in Finland Dr. Olli Pitkänen says.
The project started on 1 February 2017 and was completed by 31 December 2017. The consortium consisted of:
- Research Director Olli Pitkänen from IPR University Center
- Professor Torsten Bjørn Larsen from Aalborg University
- Professor Anders Gustafsson
- Professor Poja Shams from Karlstad Business School.
Project Leader
Olli Pitkänen
Research Director
IPR University Center
The report is edited by Olli Pitkänen, with contributions by Torsten Bjørn Larsen, Anders Gustafsson, Poja Shams, Nicolas Kröger, Sam Wrigley.