Here’s a recap of some of what we were able to accomplish in 2021 thanks to your contributions: 

Your donation to IIPSJ enables us to develop scholarly writings and teaching that examine the intersection of IP and social justice.

• Our monthly newsletters provide readers with timely and relevant recent developments in intellectual property law that have particular impacts on diverse communities and the concept of social justice.
• IIPSJ has also been able to spearhead critical social justice assessments of recent legislation such as submitting comments to the USPTO on the strategy for the National Council for Expanding American Innovation (now the Council for Inclusive Innovation).
• Working with our various institutional partners, IIPSJ has also been able to organize the seventh annual IP MOSAIC Conference, where we created a space for IP scholars, political activists, practicing attorneys, community organizers, and policy makers to discuss papers and collaborate on various topics of IP empowerment.

Contributions made to IIPSJ support our efforts to diversify the IP legal bar.

• This year, IIPSJ has also been able to continue our Attorneys of Color Interview video series to help prospective IP practitioners in discovering what it’s like to become an attorney in the IP field.
• We continued hosting the longest running IP and social justice program in the country during our IP & Social Justice CLE seminar, where we discussed impacts of intellectual property on diverse communities using diverse groups of panelists to speak amongst a diverse group of attendees.
• We also worked alongside a number of other institutional partners such as the University of Illinois at Chicago and the U.S. Intellectual Property Association to bring similar programming to other audiences around the country.

Gifts made to IIPSJ assist us in our ability to advocate for participation in the intellectual property system.

• In April, IIPSJ Founder and Director Lateef Mtima testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Intellectual Property on the topic of access in inclusivity in the American patent system.
• Additionally, IIPSJ submitted a letter of support for the nomination of now-confirmed Tiffany P. Cunningham, the first Black judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit – the nation’s top patent court.

Your support will promote community outreach programming that empowers creators of color to share, protect, and monetize their work.

• To capture how the past year impacted artists and entrepreneurs, we commissioned the brilliant Hollis Wong-Wear to produce our first online documentary, Take Creative Control: The Series. In each of the episodes, we talk to a BIPOC creator who has pressed forward despite the pandemic and, of course, IP law hurdles. From the digital divide to anti-competitive practices, our creators are navigating the very real policy implications of an increasingly virtual world. As such, we published a series of policy papers that were inspired by each episode.  Kim Tignor recently wrote about what we learned from the series and how those lessons will guide our advocacy.

• Kim Tignor joined the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation to discuss the state of Black creators and how to empower them to share, protect and monetize their creative works. The virtual braintrust explored how Black creators use technology and their personal experiences to produce content and engage with a global audience and examine how informed policy could empower creators of color and communities of color in the future.

• IIPSJ continued to lift up the need for broadband infrastructure in historically disenfranchised communities. Kim Tignor joined FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks to discuss the critical role fast and reliable internet plays in keeping small business owners and entrepreneurs connected to their customers.

Support

None of the progress we’ve made this year would be possible without contributions from our supporters. By providing a tax-deductible donation to our organization for #GivingTuesday, you are helping IIPSJ in carrying out its objective of promoting a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive intellectual property environment for all to participate in.