Creative work generates great value and capturing that value is a skill in its own right. Rather than being a question of who deserves what, IAM’s starting point is always about value creation: how is it best structured, generated, allocated and sustained throughout the lifetime of the work. In addition, to safeguard the rightsholder’s meaningful influence over the work throughout production processes is always important, to ensure the integrity of the creation. Copyright and neighbouring rights establish the framework within which creative works are commercialised. They determine who has a claim, what can be done, and on what terms. Understanding that framework is a precondition for using it well.
A novel, a film, a design, a piece of music, a performance, an exhibition – each carries a set of rights and assets with multiple potential revenue streams, across different markets, platforms, audiences and timeframes.
The commercial life of a creative work is rarely a single transaction. It is a sequence of decisions – about context, markets, timing, exclusivity and revenue participation – each of which either builds or erodes the value of what follows. Building a coherent commercial structure from the outset, optimises value and helps to [that sequence is left to chance or to the counterpart with the stronger negotiating position]. Getting this right is fundamentally a business question, and one that requires market understanding, copyright expertise, and contractual precision to be answered well.
IAM works with creators, producers and smaller enterprises across the creative sector – including in design, music, literature, and art, as well as film- and TV-production – on the commercial and contractual structures that must ensure that the creative work generates the returns it deserves and that the rightsholder retains meaningful influence over the work. For adjacent industries, IAM brings a depth of copyright and sector understanding that informs work wherever creative assets and commercial agreements intersect.