IGIR/IPKM expert lectures
Introduction IGIR/IPKM lecture series
The IGIR/IPKM expert lecture series addresses topics in the field of Innovation, Trade, Investment and Competition Law that are relevant to for today’s society. We invite speakers from academia and private practice to share insights on recent developments and to stimulate a debate with staff and students, in an informal setting.
All are welcome to attend.
Upcoming Lecture
The next lecture will take place on Thursday, 1 October 2026, from 18:30 to 20:30, featuring Sabine Jacques, Professor of Intellectual Property Law at the University of Liverpool's School of Law and Social Justice and IP and AI Policy Lead at MusicFutures.
Lecture title: “Sync or swim? Rethinking music licensing for games”
Abstract
Music licensing for games still borrows from film and television sync, where a recording is matched to moving images. Games no longer work that way. Scores adapt to player state, generative systems produce a different version every playthrough, spatial audio makes movement part of the performance, and shared worlds turn listening into a social act.
Drawing on HARMONY, a UK Intellectual Property Office-funded, industry-supported project built on a sector survey and 45 interviews with right-holders, publishers, developers, composers and collecting societies, this talk sets out where the current frameworks break down and why negotiation might become difficult. Faster clearance alone will not turn music in games into more than isolated activations. What is also needed is better mutual understanding between the sectors, innovation in the frameworks themselves, and education on both sides.
Bio Sabine Jacques
Sabine Jacques is Professor of Intellectual Property Law at the University of Liverpool's School of Law and Social Justice and IP and AI Policy Lead at MusicFutures, the £7.2m UKRI Creative Cluster transforming the UK's music ecosystem, where she is also project co-lead. Her research and policy work sit at the intersection of copyright, artificial intelligence, freedom of expression and cultural diversity, helping music makers navigate a fast-changing landscape of rights, licensing and metadata while protecting creative freedom and artist agency. She directs the MusicFutures IP Clinic and Lab, which offers free legal guidance to creators and develops evidence-based recommendations for the sector, and is the author of The Parody Exception in Copyright Law (OUP, 2019) and co-editor of Teaching Intellectual Property Law (Edward Elgar, 2023). Her work has been cited by the CJEU and by the UK Intellectual Property Enterprise Court and she sits on the UK IPO Research Expert Advisory Group. She is a visiting lecturer at Maastricht University, Honorary Associate Professor at the University of East Anglia, and a regular commentator for outlets including The Guardian, The Washington Post and the BBC.
