Tracking trending news and debates in intellectual property law and policy. Read our latest posts below, or use the buttons to access our other publications.
The 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (MC14) ended without a deal to renew the e-commerce moratorium. For the first time in 28 years, WTO members are technically free to impose customs duties on electronic transmissions. But most
At the most recent meeting of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights of the World Intellectual Property Organization (SCCR/47), four documents were presented that could serve as a starting point for text-based work at the next meeting in
Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Generative AI in particular, is transforming the way we create and challenging fundamental concepts of copyright law — including authorship, originality, and the very notion of a “protected work.” As AI tools become increasingly embedded in
Digitization projects, public libraries, and broader access to literary materials help create copyright markets. Together, these access infrastructures build the literate public and long‑run demand that copyright ultimately depends on. In 2016, the Delhi High Court was asked whether photocopied
WIPO’s new Guide to the Copyright and Related Rights Treaties Administered by WIPO (2nd ed.) contains some complicated messages on the use of open general exceptions, like fair use and fair dealing. Open General Exceptions in Copyright Others and I
In today’s world, research in fields ranging from health, education and agriculture to economics, social sciences and humanities relies on computational methods, and in particular artificial intelligence tools. Policy makers and public interest advocates around the world are beginning to
“The oceans that sustain our islands, the stars that guide our ancestors across the Pacific, the songs, the weaving, the navigational charts etched into memories across generations, all of these are more than heritage. They are the living expressions of
The United States and others have proposed that the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks adopt a Joint Recommendation on Industrial Design Protection for Designs for Graphical User Interfaces. The core of the instrument would
WIPO launched its Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Interchange (AIII) on March 17, which was described as having the goal of supporting the development of AI technology that supports the livelihoods of creators and innovators. The goal has two aspects – making
The WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) starts in Yaoundé, Cameroon, next week with a packed agenda and real stakes. Buried in the long list of negotiations is a decision that will have a significant impact beyond trade: whether to renew
This document prepared by the Centre on Knowledge Governance provides comments on the Concept Note published by the government of India proposing a set of amendments to the Designs Act (2000). Table of Contents Introduction The Concept Note which proposes
The World Intellectual Property Organization has several important committees meeting in the upcoming months. Below are the Centre on Knowledge Governance guides for each of these meetings: key context and background, next meeting dates, draft agendas and key issues to
Luca has a PhD from the UFRJ Graduation Program on Public Policy, Development and Strategies (PPED/UFRJ) with a thesis on ‘Copyright and AI Generated Works’ and is a Director of the Brazilian Copyright Institute. He is a research fellow at the Centre for IT & IP Law (KU Leuven) and a post-doctoral researcher at the National Institute of Citizen Science in Brazil. He is a guest professor at the Graduation Program on Public Policy, Development and Strategies (PPED/UFRJ) and professor at the Specialization Program on Intellectual Property Law at PUC-RJ.
Dr. Susan Isiko Štrba combines teaching and research with providing policy and legislative advice and technical training to governments, intergovernmental organizations and civil society. She focuses mainly on human rights, intellectual property (IP), trade and development. Dr Isiko Štrba is the author of International Copyright Law and Access to Education in Developing Countries: Exploring Multilateral Legal and Quasi-Legal Solutions, a leading guide to the functioning of international copyright law for the public interest in developing countries. She has also published numerous journal articles in the field of human rights, trade, IP and development.
She currently researches the interface of technology, intellectual property and the African Continental Free Trade Area. She is a member of the International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property (ATRIP) and a member of the Executive Council of the Society of International Economic Law (SIEL). Dr Isiko Štrba has taught Intellectual property, competition law and human rights in various institutions including: the Boston University (Geneva International Campus), The Graduate Institute, Trade Policy Training Centre in Africa (TRAPCA), the International University in Geneva, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa and the WIPO Academy.
Andrés Izquierdo is Senior Research Analyst for our project on the Right to Research in International Copyright. He conducts high-impact research, provides training to a global network of change-makers, and connects a global academic network to the work of global and domestic organizations that represent researchers, libraries, museums, archives, educational and research institutions.
Before joining PIJIP, Andrés Izquierdo practiced law through his award-winning intellectual property and cyber law practice in Colombia. He has been named one of the best entertainment law attorneys in Colombia by the publications Best Lawyers (2020), and top Intellectual Property practitioner by Chambers and Partners (2014-2020), and is author of the book Cyberlaw by Wolters Kluwer. Izquierdo was previously Business and Legal Director for Sony Music Entertainment in the Andean Region, and litigation partner in Palacio, Izquierdo & Ballesteros, an intellectual property law firm in Colombia. He has LLM degrees in Intellectual Property from American University Washington College of Law and from the University of Turin – WIPO, and a law degree from Universidad de Los Andes.
Ben Cashdan is a economist and television producer in South Africa. He was an economic advisor in the South African Presidency under President Nelson Mandela, focusing on capacity building and local economic development. Since 2000 Ben has served as executive producer of a number of television series on democracy and development for global broadcasters. In 2015 Ben co-founded ReCreate South Africa, a coalition of creators and users of copyrighted material in South Africa, working together for fair and balanced copyright reform and access to knowledge.
Ben has a masters degree in Social and Political Sciences from Kings College Cambridge and a Postgraduate Certificate in Economics from the London School of Economics. Ben also continued his postgraduate studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland in the Department of Economic Geography. He was South African producer for Harry Belafonte’s biographical documentary Sing Your Song. Ben has also produced 4 episodes of The World Debate on BBC World News. He developed and produced the first season of South2North on Al Jazeera English, the first global talk show to be produced in Africa for a major global broadcaster. In December 2013 Cashdan produced an episode of BBC Question Time on South Africa after Mandela.
Ben has directed a number of broadcast media projects on democracy and development in partnership with agencies including the World Economic Forum, the United Nations Development Programme and the African Leadership Academy.
Professor Flynn researches and teaches on the intersection of intellectual property, international law, and human rights. Professor Flynn designs and manages a wide variety of research and advocacy projects that promote the public interest in intellectual property and information law. Professor Flynn Chairs the Global Expert Network on Copyright User Rights and is a founding member of the Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest.
He is Editor in Chief of Infojustice.org, a leading public interest law and policy blog. He is a special faculty appointment at American University Washington College of Law, visiting Scholar at the University of Amsterdam’s Institute for Information Law (IViR), and Senior Research Associate at the University of Cape Town’s Intellectual Property Unit. Prior to joining WCL, Professor Flynn completed a Fulbright Fellowship, was clerk to Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson, South African Constitutional Court and Judge Raymond Fisher, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, practiced law at Spiegel & McDiarmid and the Consumer Project on Technology, and served on the policy team advising then Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Deval Patrick.
