What Netflix’s Warner Bros Buyout Means for Intellectual Property

At the beginning of December, Netflix announced plans to acquire for $82.7 billion Warner Bros, which also includes the HBO Max platform and the rights to iconic productions such as Game of Thrones.

The transaction is expected to be finalized within 12 to 18 months.

What does this mean from an intellectual property perspective?

Netflix could become the owner of a huge library of content—both its own series and films, as well as material originally created for HBO Max, which means that the copyrights, licenses, and IP associated with these productions would go to a singular entity.

But… intellectual property also includes trademarks, brands and technologies. Netflix already manages a number of IP assets, including copyrights to its interface and its own trademark.

For now, these platforms operate separately, but their potential merger could lead to long-term changes in the industry and IP management.