2024 End of Year Recap

As we close another successful year, we want to highlight some of the impact of your contributions for 2024:

The Nexus of Social Justice and Intellectual Property

• Our monthly newsletters (https://iipsj.org/latest-news/) provided readers with timely and relevant recent developments in intellectual property law that have particular impacts on diverse communities and the concept of social justice.
• Working with our various academic partners, IIPSJ organized the 10th annual IP MOSAIC Conference (https://iipsj.org/programs/ip-mosaic/). The theme was Looking Forward, Looking Back: IP Social Justice & Promoting Human Ingenuity.

Diversifying the Legal Field and the Intellectual Property Bar

• For twenty-one years, the IIPSJ IP and Social Justice CLE program (https://iipsj.org/2024-ip-social-justice-cle-recap/) has provided a venue through which to showcase minority and women IP attorneys. The 21st Annual IP & Social Justice CLE program (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpjeDSnL4i4lEMJf0N-48iqiZYF-CBvSb) explored the latest developments in IP law, including the relevant social justice impacts, strategies, and opportunities for enhancing the social efficacy of the IP legal regime.
• Working with our various academic partners and event sponsors, IIPSJ organized the 6th Annual HBCU IP & Tech Law Summit (https://iipsj.org/programs/hbcu-ip-tech-law-summit/), where the audience was treated to leading technology lawyers discussing Artificial Intelligence, Data Security and Privacy, Blockchain and more. 
• In September, IIPSJ participated in the 2nd Innovator Diversity Pilots Conference (https://law.emory.edu/impact/conferences/innovator-diversity-pilots-conference.html), where the USPTO, the National Council on Patent Practicum (NCPP), Adapt.Legal and a host of sponsors came together to discuss projects and effective practices to increase participation in innovation. IIPSJ was a Silver Sponsor of this year’s conference, and IIPSJ Founder and Director Lateef Mtima moderated the Law Firm Diversity Initiatives panel, which discussed innovative law firm initiatives to facilitate the entry of diverse candidates into IP-related fields.
• With the goal of highlighting minority IP attorneys to serve as role models to encourage the pursuit of careers in IP practice, IIPSJ continued our Attorneys of Color in IP interview series (https://iipsj.org/blog-post-ip-attorney-interviews/), which featured an interview with patent litigation attorney Esther Lim. 
• IIPSJ launched the HBCU IP and Tech Law Summit Intellectual Property (IP) Internship Grant Program, which was sponsored by INTA Foundation. Under this grant program, we sought to enable students enrolled in a participating HBCU law school to work as unpaid interns for public interest organizations in connection with trademark, copyright, and other IP matters. This grant program supported students who would not be able to participate in an unpaid internship without receiving additional monetary support.

Advocacy for Participation in the Intellectual Property System

• The Cambridge Handbook of Intellectual Property and Social Justice was published, which was co-edited by IIPSJ Director Lateef Mtima and Assoc. Director Steven Jamar.
• In July, IIPSJ Associate Director for International Programs, Dr. Metka Potočnik, attended the 65th World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) General Assemblies (GA) (https://iipsj.org/iipsj-attendance-at-the-65th-world-intellectual-property-organization-general-assemblies/) at the WIPO Headquarters in Geneva and represented IIPSJ as a WIPO Accredited Observer. Dr. Potočnik delivered an oral statement (https://iipsj.org/blog-post-iipsj-oral-statement-to-wipo/) and attended the length of the proceedings in person.

Community Outreach that Empowers Creators of Color to Share, Protect, and Monetize Their Work

• IIPSJ continued our Intellectual Property for the People Series (https://iipsj.org/programs/ip-for-the-people-open-academy/) to help creators, inventors, and entrepreneurs from communities of color understand and explore the rights and resources available to them. This year’s series included the following free, one-hour webinars: Practical Guidance on Protecting your Patent and Trademark, How to go from Inventor to Entrepreneur, IP for Entrepreneurs, and Innovation and IP. Replays of all sessions are available on our YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpjeDSnL4i4mPRA4CX44FjLcSUv1CyMug). The series will continue to run in 2025, with necessary topics such as avoiding pitfalls in the trademark application process and fashion law. 
• In conjunction with the Howard University School of Law and Wikimedia, IIPSJ continued the Wikimedia Race and Knowledge Equity (WRKE) Fellowship (https://iipsj.org/wikimedia-race-and-knowledge-equity-fellowship/) and hosted six Wikimedia Race and Knowledge Equity (WRKE) Fellows (https://iipsj.org/2023-2024-wrke-fellows/).