Everyday IP: How Museums Put IP On Display

The story of human progress and expression is put on display by museums in the works of sculptors, painters, craftspeople and great scientific thinkers. However, it is equally important to consider the underlying Intellectual Property (IP) rights, without which the glass cases would be bereft of some of history's pivotal artifacts.

IP law lays the groundwork for these institutions, safeguarding the innovations behind the exhibits and the buildings that house them. Nonetheless, those same laws limit a museum's control over its borrowed assets, creating a kind of push and pull that has given rise to just as much conflict as creativity. We take a look at both interactions and how they shape the museum world.