Zoom Webinar
The world’s first democratized intellectual-property legal system, initiated by Art. I, Sec. 8, Cl. 8 of the U.S. Constitution, is intended, per Federalist #43, to: provide uniformity for the protection of IP rights; secure those rights for the individual rather than the state; and incentivize innovation and creative aspirations. Predictability, rooted in uniform application of the rule of law, is essential for property rights and economically sustainable growth. This is especially true in the context of intellectual property and the tremendous investments required for innovation and creative expression. These intended goals can be jeopardized in times of crisis if they are seen as being pitted against health, safety, security, and humanitarian needs that arise during actual or perceived crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
How can private IP rights be achieved and maintained in a manner that genuinely promotes public good without capture issues? Does a crisis necessitate a suspension or weakening of intellectual and/or other property rights –– or is it in times of crisis that rule of law and its attendant stability/predictability are most crucially needed? What we can learn for IP from how the rule of law has been affected by national crises in the past? This panel will discuss IP law in the 21st century and especially in 2020, considering court decisions, public advocacy, and data-driven lessons of history and how they should be applied to ideas for reforms that would weaken IP and rule of law versus those that may construct and restore predictable rights in support of vibrant and productive innovation and creative output.
Featuring:
- Prof. Jorge Contreras, Professor of Law, University of Utah School of Law
- Prof. Richard Epstein, Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law and Director, Classical Liberal Institute, New York University School of Law; Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
- Mr. Phil Johnson, Founder and Principal, Johnson-IP Strategy and Policy Consulting; Former, Senior Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, Johnson & Johnson
- Hon. Karyn A. Temple, Senior Executive Vice President and Global General Counsel, Motion Picture Association; Former Register of Copyrights, United States Copyright Office
- Moderator: Hon. Ryan T. Holte, United States Court of Federal Claims