Taiwan's IP Builders Turn Novels Into Sold-Out Plays and Scents

A stage play based on a psychiatrist's book sold out three runs, then spun off a podcast and two fragrances. That production, "Marital Lost Love," anchored the case Taiwanese companies made for cross-sector intellectual property at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF) in Taipei.

Mimi Wang, COO of IP development company IPis Innovation, told the session how her company builds franchises from books. "The original intention behind developing IP is for the industry to thrive together, so everyone can make money," she said.

Wing the lens wider, Wang traced the model to South Korea, where IP adaptation began 30 years ago. "Policies brought in industries such as fashion and electronics to collaborate and invest in developing cultural products. That was also the origin of the Korean Wave," she said.

Why start with books?

IPis often begins with published fiction, which Wang called a cheaper way to find stories that already have readers. A stage production then tests audience demand through ticket sales before the company moves into screen adaptations and related products.

Its series project "Do You Still Love Me?" grew from a novel written as the story source. The project won five awards at TCCF Pitching in 2025, more than any other project that year, including the udnFunLife IP Potential Award. Wang credited a clear, engaging pitch that showed how the story could reach audiences and open business opportunities.

Plans for the project include:

• brand partnerships and product placement
• a revival of the reality show "Love Battle"
• a related feature film, "99 Days to Countdown"
• a travel itinerary, built with tourism partners, around the film's honeymoon trip

"Our IP development plan has three main pillars: emotional resonance, ESG and Taiwanese values," Wang said.

For Taiwanese identity, she pointed to "Siwei Street No. 1" by Yang Shuang-zi, author of National Book Award winner "Taiwan Travelogue." The novel follows five women sharing a house in Taichung. IPis plans a stage version alongside food events drawing on a Japanese colonial-era Taiwanese cookbook featured in the story. Other ideas include a Taiwanese banquet, an exhibition, scent-based products and character booklets. Wang said Japanese partners have already shown interest in licensing or other collaboration.

What does the money require?

"A successful investment needs three key conditions: profitability, stability and growth," said Erica Wang, CEO of the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA), which organizes TCCF. "In the IP field, we need to find that formula for profitability through a 'one source, multiple uses' approach."

Owen Lee, chair of udnFunLife, the events and ticketing arm of Taiwan's United Daily News Group, said his company focuses on cross-industry uses of IP — theater, exhibitions, experiences, merchandise — while leaving the original creative work to creators. It invests in projects and works out how to bring them to audiences and sell them.

For investors, Lee said, extending an IP depends partly on whether the rights are available. His company seeks priority rights to develop extensions and checks whether adaptation and sequel rights are clear, and whether permissions for performers, characters and music would need renegotiation for each new use.

Lee also weighs an IP's "spillover value": audience recognition and adaptability to other formats. A clear, accessible title can cut the marketing needed to explain a project to new audiences, while cost and timing shape which extension fits.

He cited an exhibition built around Taiwanese horror film "The Rope Curse 3" before its release, using franchise material to build interest. A mobile VR experience is being planned around "The Rope Curse 4."

Lee sees strong potential in Taiwan's live-action film, TV and theater IP, while character-based properties and animation still have room to grow. For Mimi Wang, the starting point remains the audience: creators should ask what viewers want to see and how a personal story can speak to a wider public.