(Publ. 14 DEC 2017) “Intellectual property drives investments in games. Out of the 53 known business transactions in the Swedish gaming industry between 2015 and 2017, 68% was due to the buyer being interested in the seller’s intellectual property, IP, either in an existing successful game or a concept under development. During this period, transactions worth approximately 5 billion Euro have been made through acquisitions and investments in IP”. This according to the report “FAITH – Investments in global digital content producers” published by the industry association Swedish Gaming Industry.

The Swedish computer game industry is growing rapidly and has doubled its turnover over the past three years. In 2016, the industry had a turnover of over 1 billion Euro and employed 4291 people. Most of the companies are profitable and the industry as a whole reports a profit for the eighth consecutive year.

The report FAITH, which can be found in its entirety in Swedish here, states that “the Swedish industry has been built thanks to the innovative IP and good management of existing IP.” Trademarks like Minecraft, Candy Crush Saga and Battlefield are all commercial success stories originating from Sweden and have contributed greatly to the international success of their respective company.

Furthermore, FAITH states that “Computer games are intangible, both in their form and use. Nevertheless, knowledge about intellectual property is limited both within and outside of the industry: investors and analysts find it difficult to value the intellectual property of computer gaming companies. […] A better understanding of the role of intellectual property in computer gaming companies is an important factor for continued development, growth, investment and innovation.”

Finally, FAITH states that: “Intellectual property is the link between creativity and economy. The result of creativity has no financial value in itself. It requires a legal system of intellectual property rights to allow creativity to generate revenue. […] As the knowledge economy grows, the role of intellectual property becomes more important. Computer games are a good illustration of that. “