4iP Blog

As we launch 4iP, we know that one of the key questions on people’s minds is going to be the issue of rights – who owns what, how long for, what is given away and so on. Particularly because Channel 4 has traditionally worked in the field of television, which is subject to its own particular terms of trade, we thought it would be useful to detail some of our current thinking on how we imagine 4iP will operate in relation to IP rights.

At the outset, it is important to note that 4iP is intended as a pilot – a fund that will allow us to experiment and innovate with new forms of content – and new business models. We envisage 4iP investing in a wide range of different content, platforms and tools – all of which we expect to have different needs and requirements. These ambitions, and the rapid and ever-changing development of business models in the sector, require us to have maximum flexibility in our operations - so that we can develop relationships according to the specific needs of individual projects. We therefore plan to approach the issue of rights on a project-by-project basis, rather than adopting standard terms for all deals. 

We think there are many reasons why this approach is appropriate for 4iP at the moment. A fundamental principle of 4iP is that it is not a television fund – and the power structures that have framed television production do not apply in the world of digital media. For example, we are competing with the world’s largest players in the supply of compelling new media content – without any protection of spectrum scarcity or other barriers to market entry. We therefore clearly do not have the same advantageous market position that terrestrial broadcasters have always held in television – and which the television terms of trade are designed to protect producers against.

The nature of the content is also different – new media content involves the creation of ‘product’ with hugely variable lives and potential for use. It is therefore much more difficult to designate clear ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ windows to this type of content than television programmes.

The business models in this sector are also starkly different to the relationship between production costs and advertising sales that we are familiar with in television. Advertising, sponsorship and subscription revenues are elusive or are of changeable currency in new media – this unpredictability highlights the need to have a flexible approach to our commercial deals. 

The diversity of approaches to rights in the web 2.0 world also has significant implications for 4iP – whereas the TV commissioning model is based around a rights-owning culture, much content created for the web is influenced by open-source, creative commons, social networking and alternative forms of IP ownership. This means that many 4iP suppliers are likely to have different, and sometimes competing, conceptions of what rights ownership should mean - and we must be flexible enough to respond to this.

Finally, another fundamental principle of 4iP that will affect our rights deals is that we are keen for all projects to be partner-rich, to ensure that we can get as much value and exposure out of 4iP projects as possible. It is therefore highly likely that deals will involve multiple parties – including Regional Development Agencies and other public and private bodies, who will inevitably all have their own approaches and requirements regarding rights.

We are currently developing some standard Terms and Conditions for 4iP projects that will reflect certain high-level principles – and we will make these available on this website. We know that discussions on rights will be close to the heart of many people pitching ideas to 4iP, and we know that in a competitive market we need to ensure that our terms are attractive to suppliers - so we imagine that the IP provisions in these Terms and Conditions will form the starting point for discussion and negotiation - and we are open to considering and developing a whole range of business models according to the individual requirements of specific projects. At the heart of 4iP is a commitment to experimentation, innovation and exploration, and therefore we believe that ensuring we are flexible enough to explore the benefits and challenges of new business models will be central to our success.