ABSTRACT
Upcycling, viewed from the perspective of intellectual property (IP) law, might be defined as transformative – recontextualized or repurposed – recycling and redistribution of tangible copies of works or goods that are protected by some form of IP law. By its very nature, upcycling is becoming the next conflict zone for IP rights holders and sustainability-oriented producers over the reuse of waste consumables. This is especially true since IP rights and the circular economy are often in conflict by relying on the same resources with significantly different logics and policies. These are exclusive and proprietary rights with clear spatial and time-constraints, predominantly aiming the progress of economics and culture for IP law; and broader accessibility with a focus on the global and long-term effects of social and technological developments for the circular economy.
Upcycling is, however, far from being a single dimensional activity to be approached solely from the perspective of exclusive IP rights. It represents a new philosophy for environment-conscious producers and consumers, promising new bottom-up approaches to decrease the negative consequences of human activities on Earth. With the growing need for green transition, upcycling can work as a case study for decision-makers from the domestic to the international level to re-imagine IP policies to support green transitions at micro level by allowing individual upcyclers the reuse of IP-affected goods; at mezo level by convincing investors and industry-level organisations to renew economic models and invest in transformative recycling; and at macro level by allowing legislation to incentivize innovative activities to minimize waste and maximize the benefits of consumables for their full life-cycle.
This introductory chapter of our forthcoming book ‘Intellectual Property and Upcycling’ aims to analyse, first, the meaning and the promise of upcycling in a circular economy and the most fundamental conceptual elements of this phenomenon. The chapter then addresses four concerns that can have direct consequences for any possible legislation of upcycling in the near future. Namely, the contrast of exclusive IP rights and inclusive sustainability and circularity; the need for a holistic IP legislation to mitigate IP overlaps in consumables; ‘spatial conflicts’, that is, the divergent needs of waste exporters and importers and the clash of developed and developing nations; finally, upcycling shall be approached from a viewpoint external to IP law’s logic, too, including other social as well as behavioural sciences. Following these, we summarize the basic structure of our edited book. Finally, we conclude our findings and show the possible way ahead – we present a bunch of normative, policy and soft law ideas that could work as a benchmark for any future legislative intervention.
Mezei, Péter and Härkönen, Heidi, A Primer to Intellectual Property Law and Upcycling (June 17, 2025).
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