Blog Post: Call for Book Chapter Proposals
A New Book on IP and Social Justice:
Call for Chapter Proposals
Lateef Mtima, Kara Swanson, Trevor Reed, Eds.
Intellectual property legal theorists, pundits, and policy makers increasingly embrace the proposition that IP protection not only supports producer incentives and creative and innovative benefits typically within the commercial sphere. IP protection can also be construed and implemented to produce outcomes that promote social justice. In this vein, a collection of international IP scholars, policy makers, and practitioners collaborated in the recent publication of The Cambridge Handbook of Intellectual Property and Social Justice, which volume undertakes to articulate a discrete theory of IP Social Justice and to explore some of the social benefits that might be gained through its application to the IP ecosystem.
Whereas the Cambridge IP SJ Handbook demonstrates how a social justice approach to IP protection can expand the social capability of the IP legal regime, the anthology further engenders the consideration of a broader, sequential question: beyond supplementing traditional IP theories and rationales, to what extent might IP SJ supplant such prevailing perspectives, towards greater fulfillment of the social function of IP protection to promote human development and wellbeing? As a follow up to the IP SJ Handbook, a new volume will explore this and related questions.
Call for Book Chapter Proposals
Through this call for book chapter proposals, we invite submissions that
(A) consider, compare, contrast, and/or critique the tenets of IP SJ (i) in the context of traditional IP theoretical rationales, such as economic utility, natural rights, and human rights law; and/or (ii) in the context of non-traditional IP theoretical rationales, such as decolonial theory, feminist theory, queer theory, and critical legal/critical race theory.
(B) explore how IP SJ theory might be applied to address specific contemporary IP challenges, particularly those which the prevailing IP rationales have so far proven incapable of addressing, including problems such as addressing TKCE achievement, AI technologies, global warming issues, and other current IP-related concerns.
This call for chapter proposals is intentionally international in scope, both with respect to subject matter and contributors. Prospective contributors are encouraged to contemplate the global future of IP law and policy, whether from the perspective of reinforcement and reform or of revolution and deconstruction, although proposals that use a specific country or region to illuminate the topic would be welcomed. Proposal abstracts should be no more than 250 words in length and submitted by September 1, 2025; for accepted abstracts, the deadline for submitting preliminary chapter drafts of at least 3,000 words (but no more than 10,000 words including footnotes) is December 1, 2025, whereafter contributing authors will be invited to participate in an in-person/hybrid roundtable workshop to discuss drafts. The editors anticipate that final drafts will be limited to 5,000-8,000 words including footnotes and will be due no later than July 1, 2026. Publication of the volume is projected for Fall 2026.
Proposal abstracts or questions should be sent to Victoria Fisher at Victoria.Fisher@iipsj.org.
Blog Post: The White House Initiative to Promote Excellence and Innovation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Ensuring the Broadest Participation in the American IP and Innovation Ecosystem
The White House Initiative to Promote Excellence and Innovation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Ensuring the Broadest Participation in the American IP and Innovation Ecosystem
On April 23, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “The White House Initiative to Promote Excellence and Innovation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.” The White House HBCU Initiative reflects the Administration’s acknowledgement of and support for the critical role that HBCU institutions continue to play in ensuring that all Americans enjoy the opportunity to excel through and contribute to the national advancement, including through participation in the American IP regime and Innovation Ecosystem.
The White House HBCU Initiative expressly recognizes that “Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) remain integral to American students’ pursuit of prosperity and wellbeing, providing the pathway to a career and a better life.” Through the Initiative, the Trump Administration pledges to “continue the work begun during [the] first [Trump] Administration to elevate the value and impact of our Nation’s HBCUs as beacons of educational excellence and economic opportunity that serve as some of the best cultivators of tomorrow’s leaders in business, government, academia, and the military.”
Among The White House HBCU Initiative’s core goals include “providing professional development opportunities for HBCU students to help build America’s workforce in technology, healthcare, manufacturing, finance, and other high-growth industries…working to advance…key priorities related to promoting innovation and excellence throughout HBCUs in consultation with HBCU leaders, representatives, students, and alumni [and] collaborating with agencies to improve the competitiveness of HBCUs for other sources of Federal research and development funding”.
Just as IP achievement remains at the forefront of American advancement in science, and technology, and the arts, The White House HBCU Initiative is an important component of a comprehensive strategy for ensuring that all Americans enjoy meaningful opportunities through which to develop and exploit their innovative and artistic talents, through academic research and technology transfer, and other entrepreneurial commercialization of their resulting accomplishments.
Through The White House HBCU Initiative, the Trump Administration takes an important step towards ensuring that every American cohort, including rural communities, veterans, elder citizens, and those who have educated themselves in non-elite or non-traditional settings, such as trade schools, and community colleges, as well as in more traditional HBCU settings, are all able to enjoy the opportunity and the privilege to participate in and contribute to America’s innovation and artistic storehouse.
IIPSJ commends the Trump Administration for this effort to effectuate a balanced approach to promoting nationwide IP engagement fully consonant with the IIPSJ Mission. We hope you will review the full text of “The White House Initiative to Promote Excellence and Innovation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.”
2025 IP & Social Justice CLE Recap
“IIPSJ’s annual conferences played an important role in developing a social justice perspective in intellectual property law and policy. The Institute’s mission is a vital one”- Honorable Raymond T. Chen
For the 22nd Annual IP and Social Justice CLE Program, co-hosted by law firm Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP, key attendee sessions included: (a) our Annual IP Year in Review, (b) Social Justice Luncheon Plenary Sessions: IP Social Justice in Legal Practice: Preparing Practitioners for Contemporary Challenges, and (c) the Annual Donald R. Dunner Judicial Panel, which included insights and reflections from the Honorable Leonard P. Stark, Judge with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Honorable Kara F. Stoll, Judge with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the Honorable Susan G. Braden, Former Chief Judge (retired) of the United States Court of Federal Claims.
The IP and Social Justice CLE Conference benefits from participation from all demographics within the IP legal community: attorneys in private practice, in-house counsel corporate departments, government agencies, and public interest NGOs, as well as members of the judiciary and government officials. The CLE Program was co-chaired by Tashia Bunch, Esther H. Lim, and Idris N. McKelvey.
IP Social Justice Lifetime Achievement Award:
The Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice honored Patricia Carter Ives Sluby, L.H.D. with a IP Social Justice Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Sluby joined the US Patent and Trademark Office as a patent examiner in the early days of the Equal Employment Opportunity program and later achieved the primary status followed by a special programs Patent Cooperation Treaty examiner. Upon leaving the USPTO she became a registered patent agent.
Dr. Sluby began compiling information on African American inventors, including women inventors and published articles in patent office journals and many other national publications including the 1990 Bicentennial Celebration—United States Patent and Copyright Laws Proceedings, Events and Addresses. She self-published her first book in 1987, Creativity and Inventions: The Genius of Afro-Americans and Women in the United States and their Patents. and after retirement published books in 2004, The Inventive Spirit of African Americans, and 2011, The Entrepreneurial Spirit of African American Inventors. Pat herself holds 22 registered copyrights. She is co-curator of the exhibit, Patented Ingenuity: The Art of African American Inventors, at the Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center.
Dr. Sluby is past president of the National Intellectual Property Law Association, educating the minority community in IP, placement of IP professionals, and legislation, and member of the board of directors of the Museum for Black Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She has appeared widely on radio, TV, and internet programs, once serving as the spokesperson for the USPTO on CNN. She has also served as a contributing editor of the journal of the National Society of Black Engineers.
Her distinguished service includes Department of Commerce Science and Technology Fellow, serving on the subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs where she drafted a bill to place the first woman bank president in the US on a coin and special director in the Office of Cultural Resources of the National Park Service.
The 2025 CLE Sessions were:
• Key Highlights of 2024: Patent, Trademark, and Copyright
• Donald R. Dunner Judicial Panel
• IP Social Justice in Legal Practice: Preparing Practitioners for Contemporary Challenges
• Trademark, Entertainment, and NIL
• Perspectives on The Rise of Trade Secrets
• Al and Impacts on Patent System Inclusion
• Ethics
View the session video for IP Social Justice in Legal Practice: Preparing Practitioners for Contemporary Challenges here.
Thank you to our sponsors!
Blog Post: IIPSJ Co-Sponsors 2025 Race + IP Conference
IIPSJ Co-Sponsors 2025 Race + IP Conference
The Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice (IIPSJ) is excited to announce that it is a co-sponsor of the 2025 Race + IP Conference.
Race + IP is a conference dedicated to cultivating community and collaboration around the study of race, coloniality, and intellectual properties. The fifth anniversary conference, Race + IP ’25: Abolitionist Futures, scheduled for April 17-19, 2025 at the University of Pittsburgh, asks what it means to think about the transformative justice term “abolition” alongside “intellectual property,” or perhaps more aptly “knowledge governance.”
As a conference speaker, IIPSJ Founder and Director Lateef Mtima will support this important conversation, aspiring to encourage a shift in the socio-legal conceptualization of intellectual property as space to be policed and imagining how it can be reimagined through new frameworks that emphasize reparation without punishment.
Registration is free, and attendees can participate in person or virtually.
Learn more about the 2025 conference here.
Register for the conference here.
Blog Post: IIPSJ Program Assistant Victoria Fisher Recognized as 2024 Women in STEM Ambassador of the Year
IIPSJ Program Assistant Victoria Fisher Recognized as 2024 Women in STEM Ambassador of the Year
The Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice (IIPSJ) proudly introduces Victoria Fisher, our newest team member and a 2024 honoree of the Department of Commerce Women in STEM Ambassador Program. Recognized on November 1, Victoria was celebrated for her outstanding contributions to increasing diversity in STEM.
The Women in STEM Ambassador Program promotes representation in STEM fields by engaging students and professionals through mentorship and outreach. As an ambassador, Victoria led nearly 20 events, including judging biomedical engineering projects at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair and mentoring students at the Youth Entrepreneur Institute in Washington, D.C.
In her acceptance speech, Victoria reflected on her journey in STEM, recalling challenges such as the absence of women’s restrooms in her college’s engineering building—a reminder of the field’s historical gender disparities. She emphasized the importance of representation, stating, “Each moment we spend inspiring young minds, breaking down barriers, and challenging stereotypes is a step toward a future where every girl believes she belongs in STEM.”
As a Primary Patent Examiner at the USPTO and IIPSJ’s Program Assistant and Administrator, Victoria continues her mission to expand access to STEM and intellectual property education. We are honored to have her on our team and look forward to her continued impact.
Blog Post: 2024 End of Year Recap
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/).
2024 IP & Social Justice CLE Recap
“IIPSJ’s annual conferences played an important role in developing a social justice perspective in intellectual property law and policy. The Institute’s mission is a vital one”- Honorable Raymond T. Chen
For the 21st Annual IP and Social Justice CLE Program, key attendee sessions included our Annual IP Year in Review, Social Justice Luncheon Plenary Sessions: Increasing Diversity in Innovation and HUSL-ing In-house at JPMC, as well as the Annual Donald R. Dunner Judicial Panel, which included insights and reflections from the Honorable Leonard P. Stark, Judge with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Honorable Patricia Tolliver Giles, Judge with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Honorable Scott R. Boalick, Chief Administrative Patent Judge with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the Honorable Susan G. Braden, Former Chief Judge (ret.) with the United States Court of Federal Claims.
The IP and Social Justice CLE Conference benefits from participation from all demographics within the IP legal community: attorneys in private practice, in-house counsel corporate departments, government agencies, and public interest NGOs, as well as members of the judiciary and government officials.
The IP and Social Justice CLE Program was co-hosted by law firm Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP, with Finnegan Partner & Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Esther H. Lim being presented with the IP Social Justice Lifetime Achievement Award.
The 2024 CLE sessions were:
- Key Highlights of 2023: Patent, Trademark, and Copyright
- Donald R. Dunner Judicial Panel
- Increasing Diversity in Innovation
- HUSL-ing In-house at JPMC
- Inclusive Innovation and Cutting-Edge IP Strategies
- How to Help the Trial Court Judge Understand Patent Law
- Embracing the Future of AI, Cybersecurity, and Privacy
- Updates on College Athletes’ NIL & Celebrities’ Right of Publicity
- Ethics
View the IP and Social Justice CLE session videos here.
Thank you to our sponsors!
Blog Post: WRKE Fellow Project Update
Wikimedia Race and Knowledge Equity (WRKE) Fellow Project Update
Kainen Bell, PhD Candidate at the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign, and 2023/2024 WRKE Wikimedia Foundation Fellow, recently completed the 2024 Summer Global Policy Fellowship at the Institute for Technology and Society (ITS) in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. He was one of ten researchers selected worldwide who share common interests in technology and its interfaces with law, and who want to expand their knowledge about the Brazilian technological context.
The intensive four-week program took place in July, and included a series of meetings with ITS partners in Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, and São Paulo including the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Brazil’s National Data Protection Agency, NuBank, The Center for Security and Citizenship Studies (CESeC), and others concerned with AI Development and Regulation in Brazil. Bell also presented a lecture titled, “AI Ethics: Regulating Facial Recognition in Brazil” at the International School of Law and Technology offered by ITS in partnership with the University of Montréal.
Bell will remain in Brazil conducting his dissertation research which uncovers algorithmic biases and follows the work of digital rights activists and organizers of anti-surveillance campaigns in Brazil who protest facial recognition camera initiatives. His goal is to learn how Afro-Brazilian communities collaborate to resist and prevent the abuse of surveillance technologies in their neighborhoods.
The findings from his dissertation fieldwork and ITS Global Policy Fellowship contribute towards his WRKE fellowship project, which is to dedicate time into creating resources, documents, and publications to support the efforts of the national anti-surveillance campaign in Brazil.
(Kainen Bell on the far right with other ITS Global Policy Fellows outside of the National Soccer Stadium in Brasília, Brazil)
Blog Post: IIPSJ Attendance at the 65th World Intellectual Property Organization General Assemblies
(WIPO GA) (Geneva, 9-17 July 2024)
By Dr. Metka Potočnik (she/her/hers), Senior Lecturer in Law, Wolverhampton Law School
IIPSJ attended the 65th World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) General Assemblies (GA),
in their capacity as the WIPO Accredited Observer. Now attending regularly, IIPSJ participated in the
official hearings at the WIPO Headquarters in Geneva, with the Associate Director for International
Programs, Dr. Metka Potočnik, attending the length of the proceedings in person. These
assemblies brought together another record number of delegates. A full list of participants is
available here, and all the sessions are available for viewing here.
IIPSJ attended the GA sessions for the second time in Geneva, after having observed several WIPO
meetings online, since 2020. IIPSJ continues to take the GA meetings as an opportunity to build
strategic partnerships with Member States and other stakeholders, interested in creating access,
inclusion and empowerment for under-represented creators and innovators in the global eco-
system. IIPSJ contributed to the discussion in writing (see here), and in the session (view here, at
02:31:12).
IIPSJ representative, Dr. Metka Potočnik, also attended the 11th WIPO-NGO Stakeholder Dialogue,
which was organised in parallel with the 65 th WIPO GA and took place on Thursday, 11 July 2024, at the WIPO New Building. WIPO Director General Tang, Deputy Director Edward Kwaka and other WIPO experts met with over sixty Accredited Observers and NGOs, in discussing global challenges, which require a multi-stakeholder response. IIPSJ sent their question in advance, and continued informal conversations with WIPO and several interested stakeholders for the duration of the GA meetings. The event has been placed in the spotlight for its importance, and more can be read here.
IIPSJ is continues to contribute to future discussions in WIPO, with the aim of building a more inclusive WIPO eco-system. The IIPSJ team are working towards a meaningful participation in the 46th Session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCRR) (see here, 2025 dates to be confirmed) and the 33rd Session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) (see here). If you are interested in contributing to IIPSJ work in this space, do contact the IIPSJ directly.
Blog Post: IIPSJ Oral Statement to WIPO
IIPSJ Oral Statement to the 65th World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) General Assemblies (GA)
July 9-17, 2024
Honorable Chair, Director General, distinguished Delegates, thank you for the floor.
Institute for IP and Social Justice stresses that IP systems must balance economic and
social aims equally, in a manner that offers access, inclusion, and empowerment for all.
WIPO’s IP Gender Action Plan should include initiatives designed to also address
intersectional discrimination and misogyny in the creative and innovative ecosystems. We
stress the need to move away from projects that prioritize only “getting more women into the
system.” Intersectional discrimination and misogyny are systemic barriers that must be
corrected. IP laws must form part of the solution.
Efforts to address intersectional discrimination must also be at the heart of data collection
projects. More should be done to develop methodologies for non-registrable IP rights
(mainly, copyright); and methodologies beyond the mere binary counting of genders, so that
we also include gender-diverse people.
For more, please see our written statement.
Prepared by Dr. Metka Potočnik
IIPSJ Associate Director for International Programs