IP Development for Creative Professionals
Essential Legal Framework | 17-19 September 2026 | Potsdam
Starts
About the Workshop:
IP Development for Creative Professionals
is an intensive three-day workshop designed to help creatives turn their ideas into compelling, market-ready IPs. Participants will learn how to expand their concepts into television series, films, video games, books, and other consumer goods, and develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) while building reach and audience loyalty. Various industry experts will present the individual aspects in lectures, complemented by case studies and practical exercises. This way, participants will gain practical tools to strengthen and market their IPs. The workshop will also provide insights into building communities, cross-media storytelling, and the strategic use of music to reach new audiences.
A particular focus is on understanding the legal framework for the protection and licensing of IPs – ensuring that creatives retain ownership rights and control over their brand. Participants will work both individually and in teams to apply what they learn each day and develop their own IP strategies step by step.
With speakers from leading studios, marketing agencies, as well as the publishing and gaming industries, this workshop offers a unique, interdisciplinary perspective. Networking opportunities with professionals from the fields of film, television, gaming, and publishing promote long-term collaboration. Whether you are an author, producer, game developer, or a team of several creatives – this workshop provides the foundation to turn creative concepts into sustainable, scalable IPs.
Format
- Interactive In-Person Workshop
- 3-day seminar programme
- in Potsdam
Venue
The workshop will take place in the conference room of the MAXX Hotel Sanssouci Potsdam.
Participation Fee
690 EUR (including meals, excluding accommodation)
590 EUR with Early Bird discount until 19 July 2026
Hotel Accommodation
We offer four nights at the MAXX Hotel Sanssouci Potsdam, including breakfast for 512 EUR.
Dates & Schedule
We will start with a welcome dinner for all experts and participants on Wednesday evening, 16 September, at around 19:00 CEST.
The seminar programme starts each day at 9:00 and lasts until approximately 17:00 CEST.
Every evening, there will be joint dinners at nearby restaurants at around 19:00 CEST. These are included in the workshop fee.
Scholarships
We offer a limited number of partial scholarships. Detailed information on how to apply can be found further down in the section "Scholarships & Discounts".
- Fundamentals and significance of IPs in the creative industry
- Development of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for an IP in the entertainment sector
- Expansion of an IP into television series, films, animated films and video games
- Strategies for online engagement, social media and digital marketing
- Protection of intellectual property, licensing and safeguarding ownership rights
- Licensing for merchandising, toys and consumer goods
- Case studies on IPs from the fields of games, podcasts, publishing and film
- Networking between film and TV creators and the video game community
- Learn how to develop a strong MVP and build an IP from the ground up
- Acquire practical know-how on building an audience and audience engagement
- Receive expert guidance on legal protection, licensing and brand management
- Explore monetisation opportunities through merchandising and partnerships
- Practice applying new knowledge in structured practical exercises
- Network with professionals from the fields of film, television, music, gaming and publishing
- Enhance your ability to present, scale and market creative concepts
- Develop a concrete, tailored plan for the development of your intellectual property
10 September, 2026
English
Yes
Catering
Lunch and dinner, as well as coffee breaks, are included in the participation fee. To simplify organisation and make it environmentally friendly, the meals will predominantly consist of vegetarian dishes.
Accessibility
If you have mobility restrictions, please contact the EPI team so that we can find the best possible solution to ensure your unhindered participation.
Info Sessions
The workshop sounds interesting, but are you unsure if it is exactly what you are looking for?
Do you have a creative project that you believe has the potential for IP and are wondering if this workshop could help you in its development?
Then come to our information session!
Our Head of Studies Nuno Bernardo and the EPI team will be happy to answer all your questions about the content, organisation, and process of the workshop.
1st Info Session
at 16:00 CEST
Our Head of Studies
Nuno Bernardo and the EPI Team will present the workshop and answer your questions.
- free of charge
- Online
- approximately 30 minutes
- Ask all your questions!
2nd Info Session
at 15:00 CEST
Our Head of Studies
Nuno Bernardo and the EPI Team will present the workshop and answer your questions.
- free of charge
- Online
- approximately 30 minutes
- Ask all your questions!
Head of Study
Nuno Bernardo
In 2008, Nuno Bernardo created "Sofia’s Diary" for Channel 5 and received a nomination for the series at the Broadcast Awards. C21 Magazine described "Sofia’s Diary" as "one of the most iconic television shows of the decade", and Broadcast Magazine stated that "Sofia’s Diary helps to write the history of television in the UK". The series reached over 500 million viewers and was broadcast in 30 countries, including China, Brazil, and Australia. As a TV producer and showrunner, Nuno Bernardo developed and produced "Beat Generation", "Flatmates", the Kidscreen Award-winning series "Aisling’s Diary", as well as the Emmy-nominated TV series "Final Punishment", "Beat Girl", and "Collider". In North America, Nuno Bernardo served as executive producer for two HBO Canada series: "Living in Your Car" and "The Line" featuring Linda Hamilton and Ed Asner. As a director, Nuno Bernardo directed the Emmy-nominated science fiction series "Collider" as well as the TV documentary "The Stand Ups" and wrote their scripts. Recently, Nuno Bernardo wrote and directed "The Players" ("Os Jogadores") for the Portuguese public broadcaster RTP, the first fictional television series set in the world of e-sports, and is currently preparing "Punch in the Dark" ("Soco no Escuro"), a feature film set in the world of boxing and MMA.
Experts
Triona Campbel
Triona Campbell is a two-time Emmy-nominated producer and winner of two Kidscreen Awards. She is the creator of Ireland's first television series about video games, "Gamer Mode" (RTÉ), and producer of the groundbreaking and cult British teen series "Sofia’s Diary" (SONY Pictures Television).
Triona has a Master's degree in Creative Writing from Trinity College in Dublin. She is also the author of the award-winning podcast series "Adventures of a Young Pirate Queen" and a bestselling author of the novel "A Game Of Life or Death" (awarded by Waterstones as one of the best young adult novels of 2023, winner of the Great Reads Award 2023).
Her second book "The Traitor in The Game" was published in February 2024, debuted at number 1 on the bestseller list in Ireland, and was nominated for the "Irish An Post Book of the Year Awards 2024". "Enter The End Game" is her third novel and was published in August 2025.
She lives in Porto, Portugal, where she writes and works as a producer for Roundstone Media.
Niki Théron
Niki Théron is a Senior Project Manager with relevant experience in organising international collaborations in the publishing and creative industries. Her particular expertise lies in the management of public funding, the conception and planning of events, and intercultural communication. She is a jury member for Books
at Berlinale, for "Book-to-Screen" at KVIFF, and at the Prix Première.
She was a "Future Partner" at the EAVE Producers’ Workshop 2025 and is a member of the German-French Film Academy and the European Film Academy.
My strengths include in-depth knowledge of and love for the book industry, team spirit and an endless enthusiasm for connecting people.
Piotr Szczesniak
With over a decade of experience in business development in the entertainment industry (including at CD PROJEKT RED, Displate.com, and 11 bit studios) in the areas of computer games, licensing, merchandising, as well as film and television adaptations, I focus on building sustainable and coherent cross-media IPs while ensuring that they retain their entertainment value in every medium they expand into.
Christian Fonnesbech
Christian Fonnesbech is the founder and head of the IP department at Leverage, where he helps game and entertainment companies develop distinctive, memorable IPs that have the potential to become enduring franchises.
Over the past ten years, he has worked with hundreds of companies, from independent studios and start-ups to international corporations such as Bandai Namco, PLAION, and Embracer. Additionally, he supports emerging studios through incubators and accelerators across Europe, Australia, and Canada. The focus of his work is on the emotional core, the characters, the worlds, and the positioning that help projects stand out from the crowd at launch and create long-term franchise value.
Christian
is a frequent international speaker on IP development, franchise building and
creative strategy, with appearances at events including Devcom, the Bologna
Children’s Book Fair, XP Game Summit, gamescom congress and the Toronto
International Film Festival.
His
collaborators include Story Kitchen, the production company behind the Sonic
the Hedgehog films and Netflix’s Tomb Raider animated series, as part of his
work connecting game development with wider entertainment opportunities.
Maite Woköck
Wendy Bernfeld
Tanja Laub
Tanja Laub is considered a pioneer of German community management. She advises companies on the strategic development of vibrant communities and the creation of communication strategies. Based on her 20 years of experience in community management with companies such as SAP, Lufthansa, ETH Zurich, Doctors Without Borders, SBB, and Munich Airport, she conveys a systematic approach from strategic planning to measurable performance evaluation. As a former chairperson of the Federal Association of Community Management (BVCM), she knows the challenges of the industry firsthand. She shares her expertise in workshops and training, as an author, in her podcast "Unicorn and Glitter", as the founder of Community Glitz, and as a lecturer at universities.
www.communitymanagement.de
Petra Strobl
Petra Strobl is Managing Director of Licensing International Germany, the German chapter of the world's largest trade association for the brand licensing industry.
She is a business communications and marketing executive with decades of leadership experience across the entertainment, media, and brand industries. Petra spent 16 years at The Walt Disney Company Germany, first heading up PR for the theatrical and home entertainment division before becoming Head of PR & Communication, responsible for all PR, corporate communications, and events across every business unit. Her path into the world of film began earlier, during eight years at the German music channel VIVA TV, where she rose from editor to lead producer of the weekly movie show FILM AB. Petra started her career as a journalist, working as a news editor and radio presenter at RTL Radio Luxembourg.
After Disney, she brought her expertise to the advertising industry, working with agencies including Serviceplan and McCann, before founding her own communications and marketing consultancy.de
Kamran Kahn
Ewa Bolinska
Scholarships
and
Discounts
Thanks to funding from Creative Europe — MEDIA, a limited number of partial scholarships are available for citizens of the following countries:
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Croatia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Serbia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Hungary, Cyprus.
Please use the link below to apply.
Important note: Please do not register for the workshop while your scholarship application is still being processed.
Thanks to funding from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, a limited number of local scholarships are available for media professionals residing in the regions of Berlin, Brandenburg, Thuringia, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt.
Diese Stipendien können bis zu 50 % der Teilnahmegebühr abdecken, Unterkunftskosten sind ausgenommen. Eine deutsche Staatsangehörigkeit ist nicht erforderlich; Bewerber:innen müssen jedoch zum Zeitpunkt der Bewerbung mit Hauptwohnsitz in einer der genannten Regionen gemeldet sein.
Important note: Please do not register
for the workshop while your scholarship application is still being processed.
Corporate discount
For on-site seminars, we offer a corporate discount of €100 per person if multiple people from the same company register for the same event. Please contact us to receive a corresponding discount code.
EAVE Alumni Discount
Thanks to our partnership with EAVE, alumni of their programme receive a discount of € 90 when they book an in-person seminar of the EPI.
Please note that scholarships and discounts cannot be
combined.
Funding opportunities in your country:
We recommend that all applicants inform themselves about financial support from national or regional funding bodies that may offer scholarships or grants for further education and professional development.
Information on funding opportunities for participants in MEDIA-funded training can be obtained from the MEDIA Desk in your country or region. Please note that participation costs for MEDIA training can be recognised as eligible expenses under MEDIA Development Grants.
Below you will find a selection of relevant funding opportunities by country:
- Belgium— Flanders Audiovisual Fund:Training scholarships/ Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel:Training support
- Denmark— Danish Film Institute:Vocational training
- Germany— MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein:Further education and qualification/ KOMPASS:Support for self-employed individuals/ HessenFilm und Medien:Step funding/ Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Filmförderung:Talent promotion
- Estonia— Estonian Film Centre:Continuing education funding
- Finland— Finnish Film Foundation:Funding for distributors and cinema operators/ AVEK:Continuing education scholarships
- Ireland— Screen Ireland:Scholarships and grants
- Italy— Fondo Audiovisivo Friuli-Venezia Giulia:Training funding/ Trentino Film Commission:Film fund and continuing education funding
- Lithuania— Lithuanian Film Centre:Funding for film and cultural creators
- Luxembourg— Film Fund Luxembourg:Continuing education scholarships
- Netherlands— Netherlands Film Fund:Funding for continuing education and labs
- Norway— Norwegian Film Institute:Travel scholarships
- Austria— Austrian Film Institute:Funding for professional development
- Sweden— Swedish Film Institute:Courses and seminars
- Switzerland— Media Desk Suisse:Continuing education scholarships
- Serbia— Film Center Serbia:Continuing education scholarships
- Czech Republic— Audiovisual Producers' Association:Funding for producers
Hotel & Venue
We are pleased to welcome you to the MAXX Hotel Sanssouci Potsdam, where you have the option to stay for four nights during the workshop. All workshop sessions will take place in one of the hotel's modern conference rooms. The daily lunch and coffee breaks are included in the price and provide ample opportunity to network with other participants throughout the programme. Accommodation at the hotel is not included in the participation fee but can be booked separately upon request and for an additional charge.
For more information about the hotel and its facilities, please visit the hotel's website.
Contact
Any questions? We are happy to help!
Katarzyna von Matthiassen
Project Management International Training
+49 (0) 331 76 99 15 09
Victoria Vosseberg
Project Coordination International Training
+49 (0) 331 76 99 15 02
Funders & Partners
Funders
Partners
