Written by: Keegan Caldwell, PhD

The recent surge in music catalog acquisitions offers valuable lessons for intellectual property due diligence across all innovation-driven sectors. Over the past five years, music catalog transactions have exceeded $20 billion, with headline-making deals like Sony’s acquisition of Bruce Springsteen’s catalog for over $500 million and Universal Music’s purchase of Bob Dylan’s songwriting portfolio for approximately $300 million. Behind these eye-catching figures are sophisticated IP due diligence processes that parallel challenges faced by companies in technology, healthcare, and manufacturing.

So, as we celebrate World IP Day 2025, with this year’s theme “IP and music: Feel the beat of IP,” it’s worth examining how the music industry’s approach to evaluating IP assets mirrors and informs practices in other sectors—specifically tech. Companies across industries encounter similar challenges when assessing IP portfolios during acquisitions, though implementation standards vary significantly between sectors.

Chain-of-title verification

In music catalog acquisitions, establishing clear ownership history for each composition and recording is crucial. This “chain-of-title” verification process traces rights from original creation through every subsequent transaction, assignment, and license. Music industry professionals have developed sophisticated systems to detect gaps in ownership documentation that might otherwise remain hidden until post-acquisition disputes arise.

Chain-of-title verification and analyses are similarly critical in the technology sector, though mid-sized tech organizations often neglect to document and track code ownership through development iterations, especially when open-source software and third-party contracts are involved. In fact, over half have no formal policy around open-source use. Even more concerning, many simply don’t realize (or ignore) that source code repositories marked “open source” aren’t necessarily actually available for use without restrictions. And when companies fail to document important elements like this from the start, it can drastically slow or even ruin chances of an acquisition.

Success in both industries requires documentation of every contributor—from primary songwriters to session musicians in music, or from lead developers to contractors in technology (and now, of course, AI-assisted elements)—with corresponding agreements clearly delineating rights transfers. The thoroughness of this documentation often distinguishes successful acquisitions from problematic ones.

Rights fragmentation analysis

Music IP due diligence regularly confronts the challenge of rights fragmentation across multiple parties. A single song might involve separate rights for composition, recording, publishing, and performance, each potentially owned by different entities. Successful acquisition processes in music carefully map these fragmented rights and identify any uncleared samples, covers, or derivative works that could impact valuation.

This fragmentation assessment has direct parallels in technology acquisitions, as IP rights often exist in similarly complex ecosystems. A single software product may incorporate open-source components, AI-assisted work, licensed algorithms, and proprietary code, each with distinct ownership structures and restrictions. Legal experts in both industries have developed systematic approaches to mapping these complex rights relationships.

However, while 96% of CIOs conducting due diligence discover risks that significantly impact M&A deals, only 21% of companies actually conduct due diligence for their deals. But when issues are found, they frequently involve elements like previously unidentified third-party rights that limit commercialization options or require unexpected royalty payments—precisely the issues that both music and technology due diligence aim to uncover before acquisition closes.

Territorial rights examination

Music industry acquisitions excel at territorial rights analysis, examining how IP protection varies across international markets. The global nature of music distribution requires careful assessment of copyright duration, protection mechanisms, and enforcement capabilities in each territory where exploitation is planned. These assessments have grown increasingly sophisticated as digital distribution has expanded global reach.

Successful technology companies adopt similar territorial analysis in their IP due diligence processes. Even so, unfortunately too many technology companies persistently undervalue the importance of comprehensive territorial assessment during acquisitions. These companies realize all too late, in some cases, that patent protection requires specific filings in each jurisdiction, creating a complex matrix of protection that varies by geography. 

A territorial approach becomes particularly critical for companies with global aspirations. Music industry professionals routinely evaluate enforcement mechanisms in problematic markets, potential compulsory licensing issues, and territory-specific rights limitations. Technology acquisitions benefit from this same rigorous geographic analysis, especially when evaluating patent portfolios that may have strong protection in some markets but significant gaps in others.

Orchestrating success across industries

As we reflect on this year’s World IP Day theme, the connection between music and innovation extends beyond creative expression to fundamental business practices. The music industry’s sophisticated approach to IP due diligence shares many commonalities with best practices in all innovation-driven sectors. Companies pursuing technology acquisitions face the same fundamental challenges as music catalog acquirers, though adoption of meticulous ownership verification, rights fragmentation analysis, and territorial examination processes varies widely.

IP continues to represent an increasing percentage of company value across all sectors, making these enhanced due diligence approaches increasingly essential for successful acquisitions. By recognizing these shared challenges across industries, companies can achieve more secure transactions and more accurate valuations while properly respecting the intellectual property that drives innovation forward.

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