From Ideas to Income: Utilising Intellectual Property for Growth in the Creative Economy
From Ideas to Income: Utilising Intellectual Property for growth in the Creative Economy
Sasha Maharaj*
‘Intellectual property is gaining wider acceptance as a driver in the creative economy and an increasing number of countries are adopting a strategic approach to the role of intellectual property in unleashing the potential of creativity and monetizing it to the benefits of creators, stakeholders and society as a whole.’ (WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property 2022).[1]
With the theme for this year’s World Intellectual Property Day being ‘IP and music: Feel the beat of IP’, it is no doubt that rhythms and musical expressions can trigger an emotional response, bring communities together and benefit health. As such, a plethora of conferences, academia and training programmes aim to promote the importance of protecting and managing these creative expressions. However, whilst the motivating factor has been for authors to protect their works via copyright, trademarks, patents and trade secrets to name a few, utilizing intellectual property (IP) regimes has been pivotal in driving sustainable economic growth primarily due to the monetization of these creative expressions. The role of artificial intelligence (AI) must also be examined as it is undeniably embedded at the core of creative industries.
The value of IP in the Creative Economy
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) described the creative economy as “the group of activities through which ideas are transformed into cultural and creative goods and services whose value is or could be protected by intellectual property rights.” [2] Inventors and artists have an invaluable opportunity to share their ideas with the world whereby others can build upon those works. By IP protecting creators’ rights, they can monetize their work which provides incentives for further innovation.
By securing protection via an IP regime for example copyright, an inventor can generate revenue through licencing and branding which generates investment and entrepreneurship. The symbiotic relationship between IP and the creative economy is a powerful hub for creators to develop their unique products to foster market differentiation and competitiveness while allowing their creativity to safely thrive.
In keeping with this year’s World IP Day theme, music is one such industry where artistes and songwriters benefit tremendously from copyright laws to gain monetarily via royalties and licensing. Additionally, artistes can benefit from Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) to tokenize their work and granting specific rights to buyers.
One small but dynamic developing nation, Trinidad and Tobago, displays one of the world’s most exuberant and thriving creative industries—from music and fashion to film and digital media making it a microcosm of creativity. From being the home of Soca, Calypso and the Steelpan as well as boasting of having the “Mother of all Carnivals”, [3] the island has sought to harness cultural identity for economic potential. InvesTT states that ‘the top 10 performing artistes from Trinidad and Tobago generate 180 million views on YouTube per year in Trinidad and Tobago alone.’[4] Therefore, once IP law is strategically leveraged, lasting benefits will follow positioning small developing nations such as those in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region at an advantageous position on the global stage. For countries in the LAC region for example who fail to utilize IP law, they run the major risk of losing control over their culturally distinctive works leading to exploitation, lack of compensation and undervaluation.
The Age of AI
As per WIPO’s Director General Daren Tang, “The future of innovation is driven by new emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, advanced robotics and quantum computing. A strong artificial intelligence sector needs a strong intellectual property system” (WIPO, 2020).[5] Despite driving economic growth, utilizing IP poses unique challenges such as slow adaptation of IP legislation, lack of knowledge on monetizing protected creations through IP which have been exacerbated by the rapid digitization of the creative sector and emerging technologies. Whilst new modes of communication and collaboration have been enhanced, piracy via digital means has been accelerated.
Further, the continued exponential growth and usage of AI without the supervision of human interface begs the question as to who is in fact the author. For instance, the ‘The Next Rembrandt Project’ embraced AI, algorithms and a 3D printer as the author to reproduce a painting by the painter as if he were alive and what it would have looked like. AI-generated musical compositions have also blurred the lines of originality and raised concerns as to authorship.
AI has pushed creative boundaries in music production efficiency, song writing, sound/beat design, composing and distribution like never before. For example, the ‘DJ’ feature on Spotify utilises generative AI by creating personalised playlists based on prompts. As 2025 is forecasted to have a continued trajectory of trends in AI agents and virtual studio platforms, human artistes may fear that AI will replace human thought and creativity. AI enthusiasts view AI as a way of enhancing creativity of humans for workflow efficiency and not aiming to replace it. However, recently the Korean Copyright Association (KOMCA) banned the copyright registration of AI-composed songs or where AI was used in part.[6]
Through copyright, creative industries namely music have been monetized but AI has the power to shake the foundation of copyright as we know it facilitating a plethora of unauthorised use of content. On the other hand, a landmark court ruling in China was delivered to recognise copyright protection of AI generated images which begs the question as to the factors that make the work ‘original’.[7] Virginie Berger 2024 describes AI as a ‘copyright thief’ and that the Courts are struggling to keep up with the implications of AI. She further adds that “The question is no longer “if” AI will disrupt the music industry, but “how much damage will it do, and can we contain it?”[8] Whilst differing sentiments are felt worldwide regarding the fair use of AI in creative works, making a determination must be examined on a case by case basis.
The way forward
Moving forward in an accelerated digitization movement where the law often fails to keep up with technology, inventors must take advantage of structured legal frameworks to protect and safeguard their creative assets to ensure just compensation. Policy makers, legal practitioners and IP academics must ensure IP frameworks are updated with global trends which can serve to incentivize authors to feel safe to develop original works. Encouraging local innovation is a catalyst for economically viable partnerships with regional and international stakeholders. Lucrative partnerships can serve to attract funding, joint ventures, foreign investment and even tourism, for example, from global entertainment companies by instilling confidence that the local environment respects IP rights and laws.
In an era of AI and fast paced technology, governments and industry stakeholders must aid creatives in training and education initiatives, streamlined registration processes, and enhance enforcement for unauthorised use all geared towards unmissed opportunities for monetization. Developing regions such as those in the LAC, can benefit from strength in numbers via regional collaboration to harmonize IP laws and frameworks.
Lastly, a shift in the mind set of creators to view IP as not just legal technicalities but as economic progress must be harnessed. The power of IP lies in its multitude of benefits and has the innate ability to propel a nation’s creative minds, cultural richness and identity all while propagating its economy. Empowering current artists, designers, filmmakers to turn their creative minds into sustainable enterprises should be promoted at all costs. A country’s creative economy, is its own distinctive trademark and should by all means be protected and recognised for its tremendous contribution to creativity-driven economic growth.
* Author can be contacted at sasha_maharaj11@hotmail.com.
[1] WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (2022). Raising Awareness on Intellectual Property for Creative Industries in the Digital Environment: Guidelines for Organizing Awareness Raising Campaigns. Available at: https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/wipo_ip_san_22/wipo_ip_san_22_www_615992.pdf
[2] Inter-American Development Bank (2017). Public Policies for Creativity and Innovation: Promoting the Orange Economy in Latin America and the Caribbean. Available at: file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/Public-Policies-for-Creativity-and-Innovation-Promoting-the-Orange-Economy-in-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean%20(1).pdf
[3] Daily Express (2022). Carnival Come Back. Presenting the ‘Mother of all Carnivals’. Available at: https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/carnival-come-back/article_6971a58a-5d76-11ed-a299-9b1dc09f4afd.html
[5] World Intellectual Property Organization (2020). Available at: https://www.wipo.int/en/web/director-general/w/daren-tang/news/2020/news_0014
[6] AI Brew (2025). KOMCA Bans AI-Generated Music Registration Amid Global Copyright Debate. Available at: https://aibrew.news/articles/komca-bans-ai-generated-music-registration-amid-global-copyright-debate
[7] Loke-Khoon Tan, James Lau and Harrods Wong (2024). China: A landmark court ruling on copyright protection for AI-generated works.Available at : https://globallitigationnews.bakermckenzie.com/2024/05/08/china-a-landmark-court-ruling-on-copyright-protection-for-ai-generated-works/
[8] Virginie Berge (2024). AI’s Impact on Music in 2025: Licensing, Creativity and Industry Survival. Available at : https://www.forbes.com/sites/virginieberger/2024/12/30/ais-impact-on-music-in-2025-licensing-creativity-and-industry-survival/
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