Overview

In 1997, world-famous musician David Bowie issued US$55 million worth of bonds based on his future earnings from the rights to his master tapes and publishing catalog. This concept of “Bowie Bonds” was later followed by other artists and ultimately kickstarted the era of intellectual property (“IP”) securitization.[1] Over the years, the practice of using IP assets to secure access to credit has gained increasing attention^[2] and various countries (including Singapore, India, South Korea and China) have also facilitated and established roadmaps and policies on the use of IP as eligible collateral in order to secure financing.[3]