Managing Intellectual Property for Museums

Effective use of the intellectual property (IP) system offers museums across the world significant opportunities to better understand the full potential of their collections and to increase the overall quality of preserving their cultural heritage asset.

This Guide, prepared by Rina Elster Pantalony, was recently updated to reflect the tremendous developments since it was first published in 2007, in particular Digital Rights Management, the role of social media as a business opportunity and traditional knowledge. The two-part Guide first describes IP issues relevant to museums then reviews existing business models that could provide museums with appropriate opportunities to create sustainable funding, and deliver on their stated objectives.