Throughout our economic history, new types of resources, new technologies and new ways of organizing the market have necessitated a reconsideration of how intellectual property rights operate. History is littered with examples, from Medici decrees that gave temporary monopolies to creators of machines and devices, to conflicts such as in the Parisian Cafe ‘Les Ambassadeurs’, where in 1847 a composer and a poet fought with musicians who had performed their work without their consent. Thus, society has continually had to update its laws to protect its artists, innovators and creators.
Today, we are at a new stage of economic development, where intangible digital assets used for creating value impact the cost of real goods across the economy. As in 1847, we are once again forced to seriously consider how to arrange and build relations between creators, copyright holders and society, for the common good but not to the detriment of the creative elite. The reason for this lies in the archetypes, proven in practice over several generations. Globally the rules of the game have changed faster than the institutions of intellectual property have been able to keep up with. We are now in a ‘knowledge economy’ where key assets are neither raw materials nor production capacities, but, rather, the knowledge, talents and creative abilities of people who do not possess the necessary legal, organizational and technological mechanisms to protect their rights.
However, this new knowledge economy is no longer something that is isolated; it features in numerous theories including Richard Florida’s “creative class”, Nick Srnicek’s “platform capitalism”, Daniel Bell’s “post-industrial society” and John Hawkins’ “creative ecology”: all recognize it as a totally new kind of economic system. Each of the aforementioned authors rightly points out that as society is developing, production is increasingly shifting from the material to the non-material sphere, and creativity is steadily becoming a key resource.
At the same time, essential differences between the concepts of ‘artistry’ and ‘creativity’ are beginning to be formulated. Essentially artistry aims to create beauty while creativity involves the creation of products and tools for survival or, in other words, development. The two main aspects that have an influence on the high demand for creativity are the formation of an innovative economy and the development of what is known as a ‘knowledge society’. That is one in which the market requires a person to be able to find original solutions in order to succeed. Today, almost everyone is experiencing serious and far-reaching changes to their way of life as compared to even 10 years ago.
The changes taking place in the world around us manifest themselves in real modifications in the psychological and physical state of people and require more adaptability and flexibility. Creativity, therefore, has become the only strategy that will allow a person to pull through in the modern world and remain himself, at the same time.
Measuring talent and creativity
Unfortunately, neither artistry, nor talent, nor creativity can be accurately measured. However, it is possible to measure their economic manifestations by looking at the degree of development of both individual industries and national economies. In the new culture of the digital world and the knowledge society whose foundation is the speed and volume of communication, the institution of intellectual property rights, has not been renewed
Existing intellectual rights management is chiefly predetermined by the formation of industrialization and the formation of mediation derived from it. Nowadays most perceive intellectual property as analogous to real material property, and the management and protection of rights is for the most part implemented by lawyers, patent offices and government officials. For artists, creators, creative entrepreneurships and investors, the value and efficiency of institutions are not in the least bit obvious.
The very root of relationships between the key participants in the global intellectual property market and the cross-border system of consumption has changed to a radical level. Companies like Uber or iTunes are shaping new skills, work standards and business practices and, unfortunately, whatever does not have time to evolve will be forced out.
Thus, many digitally immersed industries feel a lack of control over what is happening to their content. One good example is music. Previously, the circulation of a music disc necessitated and provided certain levels of control, including royalties and sales volumes; in today’s digital market, content often becomes accessible to millions around the globe for free. The artist’s work then begins to live its own life without the participation or the control of the author or copyright holder.
Blockchain and intellectual property
However, a new market is being formed that delivers actual results of intellectual activity in various digital industries. Business customs and standards are being re-configured to restore the effectiveness of intellectual property, whilst ensuring transparency and controllability of the use of the asset in order to exercise, protect and ensure their rights in the creation, usage and distribution of creative products.
Blockchain technology has shown impressive efficiency in the circulation of intellectual property and has made it possible to build a systemic infrastructure solution for what could be a transparent and reliable intellectual property market. Its advantage is the traceability of the movement of rights and the online actions of each market participant, including the actions of public law entities, which can be tracked, are accessible, are visible and are open for all to see.
Blockchain registries open up new opportunities for the development of legal/tech solutions, such as exchanges which allow for the carrying out of direct transactions between the real copyright holders and the end consumers. Blockchain technology provides escrow services for proof of authorship and with the ability to control unauthorized borrowing, copying or distribution of electronic objects. Properly designed and implemented digital services serve to prevent the accidental and/or intentional violations of rights, from music and literature to design, fashion and software, and for those types of businesses where intellectual property must be valued and protected.
Properly configured and applied digital services also reduce costs, making it easier for authors and copyright holders to monetize products and provide for the quick and convenient transfer and transition of creative products with related industries, all while maintaining proper levels of legal protection and providing fairness which is a substantial encouragement for creators.
Thus, the gains for everyone involved in the process are obvious: the state reduces the cost of maintaining and providing for officials involved in the provision of services in the field of intellectual property; legal norms that are difficult to perceive and quantify are replaced with automatic procedures which, if necessary, are undertaken with the participation of public law figures and, finally, a legal and transparent sector of the economy is formed, with an increasing taxable base.
From the mechanisms and instruments covered above, all of the participants in the artistic and creative industries receive huge advantages, chief among them being safe mechanisms for guaranteeing their rights which do not require special legal knowledge, and a means for the rapid growth of the audience of potential buyers. For countries that do not have surplus resources to build and implement a strong intellectual property protection system, this may be the only opportunity to move to a new economic order and not remain stuck in a degrading orbit of the economy of the last century. Digital technologies are rapidly becoming the ‘glue’ for new social contracts and a new model of governing relationships between creators, entrepreneurs and state actors.
Image par Gerd Altmann de Pixabay
Further reading
The challenges of the convergence of Data, AI, Cloud, Blockchain, IoT and Cybersecurity
Blockchain: a strong link to rebuild confidence in the agriculture of the future?