Policy Analysis on Cultural Creative Products of the Palace Museum
In the process of organizing the numerous exhibitions and educational activities of the museum, visitors to the museum are no longer satisfied with the appreciation of the exhibits, thus deriving a new form of consumption — museum cultural creation, which refers to a series of products developed based on the museum’s collection of cultural relics, and gave birth to a mass market for museum cultural creative products.
Policies
In 2016, The Palace Museum's intellectual poverty led the entire museum’s cultural and creative industry to “blow out” in China. On May 11, 2016, the Ministry of Culture, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China issued “Several Opinions on Promoting the Development of Cultural and Creative Products of Cultural Heritage Units”, which became a boost for the museum’s cultural and creative industry. Prior to this, Premier Li Keqiang also stressed the need to promote the development of cultural and creative industries when presiding over the State Council executive meeting.
Significance
Cultural creative products, as an important part of the museum’s cultural system, while possessing certain functions, also have an important role in spreading culture, meeting spiritual needs, enhancing cultural self-confidence, and establishing a national image. On August 19, 2019, President Xi’s speech during an inspection in Gansu emphasized the importance of the inheritance of traditional culture. It is an effective “shortcut” for cultural innovation and development to build a sense of community of the Chinese nation through family and country sentiments. Through the integration and development of cultural and creative industries, the distance between the Palace Museum and the public has been narrowed, and the museum’s own structure has also been adjusted to promote the innovation of the museum’s operating model.
Problems & Protection Policy
However, due to the broadcast of the variety show -- ‘Treasure in the Forbidden City’ in 2018, infringements of trademarks related to the Palace Museum have been preemptively registered and used on other types of goods or services. Not only that, the fake cultural creative products have caused many museums’ cultural creative products to suffer from infringement. Although there are relevant laws and regulations, there are no clear legal provisions for compensation methods and standards, and it is difficult to obtain evidence. Finally, in 2019, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China issued the “Guidelines for the Operation of Copyright, Trademark and Brand Authorization of Museum Collection Resources (Trial)”, which covers the definition of authorized content, models, procedures, rights, and obligations, etc. It has provided a clearer basis for the museum to carry out the intellectual property authorization project and made this work legal.
Recommendations
Museums at all levels should strengthen their alliances with resources from all walks of life in society and strive for strong support from the Chinese government. Museums need to keep abreast of relevant documents issued by the state in a timely manner and can seek help from local governments in policy formulation and talent introduction, organize a professional development and production team, and establish a local museum’s cultural creative research and development base. With the help of relevant departmental policies and welfare, gradually establish a certain influential cultural creative brand, and finally allow its cultural creative products to gain broad market competitiveness and cultural influence.
