Conference on Culture & Intellectual Property

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Culture & IP:
Analogs to Intellectual Property in Different Cultures

Thursday, April 27,
Friday, April 28, 2023

Hosted Online Via Zoom

— 6 Hours VA CLE Approved* —

Cultures influence the development of Intellectual Property systems, and Intellectual Property systems influence how cultures develop. This conference focused on that interplay through the lens of analogs to Intellectual Property in various cultures, bringing together scholars from around the globe to discuss how Intellectual Property systems and their analogs co-exist, influence, and inform each other.

*Several states have CLE reciprocity agreements with Virginia.
Please check with your State Bar to confirm.


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CONFERENCE MATERIALS

Readings and CLE Materials Materials (6 Hours VA CLE Approved)


CONFERENCE PROGRAM

PDF Version of Program

THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2023

All listed times are in Eastern Daylight Time Zone (EDT) (Convert time zones here)

3:00 – 3:15 PM EDT:   OPENING REMARKS

    • Sandra Aistars, Clinical Professor, George Mason University – Antonin Scalia Law School; Senior Fellow for Copyright Research and Policy & Senior Scholar, Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation Policy (C-IP2) (bio)
    • Seán M. O’Connor, Professor of Law, George Mason University – Antonin Scalia Law School; Faculty Director, Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation Policy (C-IP2); Faculty Advisor, Innovation Law Clinic (bio)

3:15 – 3:25 PM EDT:  SURVEY OF ACADEMIC LITERATURE ON RELIGION AND IP

    • Dr. Miriam Marcowitz-Bitton, Professor; Faculty of Law, Bar-Ilan University School of Law (bio)

3:25 – 4:55 PM EDT:    PANEL 1: THE FUTURE OF IP AND RELIGION

This panel will discuss the future of intellectual property (IP) and religion, considering current perspectives regarding the role religion can play in developing modern IP law. Examining scholarly trends in the study of IP and religion, this panel will discuss how different religions treat modern challenges to IP law and the extent to which it can inform the development of future IP doctrine. – Many thanks to Professor Tabrez Ebrahim and Dr. Miriam Marcowitz-Bitton for their efforts in organizing this panel.

    • Tabrez Ebrahim, Associate Professor of Law, Lewis & Clark Law School (bio)
    • Soraj Hongladarom, Professor of Philosophy, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok; Director, Center for Ethics of Science and Technology; President, The Philosophy and Religion Society of Thailand (bio)
    • Dr. Ayelet Hoffmann Libson, Senior Lecturer, Harry Radzyner School of Law Reichman University (bio)
    • Ven. Pandita (Burma), Senior Researcher, University of Kelaniya – Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies
    • Moderator: Dr. Miriam Marcowitz-Bitton, Professor; Faculty of Law, Bar-Ilan University School of Law

4:55 – 5:15 PM EDT:   CONFERENCE BREAK

5:15 – 5:25 PM EDT:   WHAT ARE EXAMPLES OF INDIGENOUS COSMOLOGIES?

    • Dr. Jessica Lai, Associate Professor, School of Accounting and Commercial Law, Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka (bio)

5:25 – 6:55 PM EDT:   PANEL 2: INDIGENOUS COSMOLOGIES AND RELATIONSHIPS WITH NATURE

In a sense, property describes a legal relationship between people and things. This panel examines how Indigenous peoples relate to natural things, and how these relationships are analogs to intellectual property. We will discuss how the current legal system works with Indigenous perspectives and how the system may need to change to align with those values. We will also examine Indigenous perspectives on intellectual property-like rights more broadly. Can intellectual property reflect Indigenous cosmologies or are they at fundamental odds? – Many thanks to Dr. Jessica Lai for her efforts in organizing this panel.

    • Dr. Amanda Black, Professor, Department of Soil and Physical Sciences; Senior Lecturer, Lincoln University BioProtection Research Centre, Director, Bioprotection Aotearoa (bio)
    • Dr. Virginia Marshall, Inaugural Indigenous Postdoctoral Fellow, The Australian National University; Principal, Triple BL Legal
    • Dr. Trevor Reed, Associate Professor of Law, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law Arizona State University (bio)
    • Solamalemalo Dr. Hai-Yuean Tualima, Senior Law Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Victoria University of Wellington (bio)
    • Moderator: Dr. Jessica Lai, Associate Professor, School of Accounting and Commercial Law, Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka

6:55 – 7:00 PM EDT:   CLOSING REMARKS & CONFERENCE ADJOURNS

FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2023

All listed times are in Eastern Daylight Time Zone (EDT) (Convert time zones here)

8:55 – 9:00 AM EDT:   WELCOME-BACK REMARKS

    • Sandra Aistars, Clinical Professor, George Mason University – Antonin Scalia Law School; Senior Fellow for Copyright Research and Policy & Senior Scholar, Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation Policy (C-IP2)

9:00 – 9:10 AM EDT:   OVERVIEW OF PANEL 3: GATEKEEPING/GATEOPENING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN CULTURAL EXPRESSION

    • Dr. Bhamati Viswanathan, Faculty Fellow, New England Law | Boston (bio)

9:10 – 10:40 AM EDT:   PANEL 3: GATEKEEPING/GATEOPENING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN CULTURAL EXPRESSION

We examine and challenge the traditional boundary-drawing of IP and ask: how do we expand the reach of IP to include underrepresented artists and expressive works? And how can we compel IP, or IP’s analogues, not to “keep” but rather to “open” their gates to a broad range of cultural expression? We discuss how the system includes/excludes underrepresented artists and expressive works and potential changes to the legal system to increase inclusion. – Many thanks to Terrica Carrington and Dr. Bhamati Viswanathan for their efforts in organizing this panel.

    • Jordana Goodman, Visiting Clinical Assistant Professor, Boston University School of Law (bio)
    • Loren Mulraine, Professor of Law, Director of Music and Entertainment Law Studies, Belmont University – College of Law; Senior Scholar, C-IP2 (bio)
    • Dr. Eden Sarid, Lecturer, University of Essex School of Law (bio)
    • Dr. Anjali Vats, Associate Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh School of Law (bio)
    • Moderator: Dr. Bhamati Viswanathan, Faculty Fellow, New England Law | Boston

10:40 – 11:00 AM EDT:   CONFERENCE BREAK

11:00 – 11:10 AM EDT:   OVERVIEW OF PANEL 4: FINDING IDENTITIES, FREEING VOICES

    • Khamal Patterson, Esq., Senior Program Officer for the Cultural Antiquities Task Force in the Cultural Heritage Center, U.S. State Department

11:10 AM – 12:40 PM EDT:   PANEL 4: FINDING IDENTITIES, FREEING VOICES

We start by framing a key concern: IP has sometimes been used/misused against creators, especially those who have historically been underrepresented and marginalized: to stifle their identities, turn their voices against themselves, or misdirect their expression to injurious ends. We turn to devising strategies and solutions to redress the problem: how can we maximize the returns and minimize the risks of IP within the U.S. and international legal systems to marginalized/underrepresented creators? – Many thanks to Terrica Carrington and Dr. Bhamati Viswanathan for their efforts in organizing this panel.

    • Dr. Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Arewa, Murray H. Shusterman Professor of Transactional and Business Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law (bio)
    • Colleen V. Chien, Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law (bio)
    • Caleb L. Green, Associate Attorney, Dickinson Wright PLLC (bio)
    • Congressman Hank Johnson, U.S. House of Representatives (bio)
    • Lateef Mtima, Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law; Founder and Director, Intellectual Property x Social Justice (IIPSJ); Senior Scholar, Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation Policy (C-IP2) (bio)
    • Moderator: Khamal Patterson, Esq., Senior Program Officer for the Cultural Antiquities Task Force in the Cultural Heritage Center, U.S. State Department

12:40 – 12:45 PM EDT:   CLOSING REMARKS AND CONFERENCE CONCLUDES

    • Sandra Aistars, Clinical Professor, George Mason University – Antonin Scalia Law School; Senior Fellow for Copyright Research and Policy & Senior Scholar, Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation Policy (C-IP2)
    • Seán M. O’Connor, Professor of Law, George Mason University – Antonin Scalia Law School; Faculty Director, Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation Policy (C-IP2); Faculty Advisor, Innovation Law Clinic

Many thanks to the Conference’s International and U.S. Planning Committee Members
for their advice, efforts, and input:

Professor Sandra Aistars (George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School, U.S.A.)
Dr. Bhumindr Butr-Indr (Thammasat University, Thailand)
Professor Irene Calboli (Texas A&M University School of Law, U.S.A.)
Terrica Carrington (Copyright Alliance, U.S.A.)
Professor Guobin Cui (Tsinghua University Law School, China)
Dr. Fernando Dos Santos (Formerly: African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), Mozambique)
Professor Tabrez Ebrahim (Lewis & Clark Law School, U.S.A.)
Professor Sang Jo Jong (Seoul National University School of Law, Republic of Korea)
Dr. Jessica Lai (Victoria University of Wellington School of Accounting and Commercial Law, New Zealand)
Dr. Miriam Marcowitz-Bitton (Bar-Ilan University Faculty of Law, Israel)
Professor Emily Michiko Morris (University of Akron School of Law, U.S.A.)
Professor Lateef Mtima (Howard University School of Law; Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice (IIPSJ), U.S.A.)
Dr. Yogesh Pai (National Law University Delhi, India)
Professor Toshiko Takenaka (University of Washington School of Law, U.S.A.)
Dr. Bhamati Viswanathan (New England Law | Boston, U.S.A.)

Special thanks to C-IP2 Research Assistant and Scalia Law 2L Cala Coffman for all her assistance in organizing this event.


CONFERENCE SPONSORS