Annual Mosaic IP Law and Policy Roundtable Conference
Mosaic IP Law and Policy Roundtable Conference
The Mosaic IP Law and Policy Roundtable connects IP scholars with political activists, practicing attorneys, community organizers, and policy makers to produce activist scholarship, to collaborate on various IP Empowerment policy initiatives and projects, and to otherwise help to shape and effectuate a progressive and contemporary IP socio-legal agenda.
Program News & Updates
9/8/2023 – The 2023 Mosaic Conference is now open for registration! Find the ‘Register’ link below.
2023 Conference Details
Co-hosted by University of Illinois Chicago Law
Date: October 27-28, 2023
Time: 9:30 AM – 4:45 PM CDT / 9:30 AM – 3:45 PM CDT
Location: UIC Law School 300 S. State St., Chicago, IL + virtual
Theme: IP Rights and Wrongs: Advancing Social Justice and Ethics
About the Conference
Each IP Mosaic Conference is typically organized around a specific IP social justice legal issue, policy, or socio-economic challenge. Representative conference themes include equitable access to health, medicines, knowledge, and information; socially beneficial application of information technology and related advances to IP development and dissemination; legal protection for traditional and indigenous knowledge and expression; and promoting IP awareness, education, and entrepreneurial and socio-political empowerment in marginalized communities. The conference format is principally comprised of paper or project presentation sessions and plenary panel discussions. In addition, keynote presentations and “incubator project” and work in progress sessions are also mainstays of the conference.
Co-hosted by University of Illinois Chicago Law

2023 Theme | IP Rights and Wrongs: Advancing Social Justice and Ethics
The IP Mosaic Conference is a unique convening of a diverse collective of academics, policy leaders and activists who meet to consider and critique IP protection. IP rights should advance social justice and ethical practices. However, when rights are abused or infringed they can also foster IP wrongs. As we encounter technologies like generative AI in our daily lives it is crucial that we evaluate how our IP laws can keep pace, to protect not only creators and innovators, but consumers and the public. What social justice impacts should we be interested in when considering businesses like data aggregators and miners, producers and distributors in the global information age? How should we understand privacy issues in relation to IP? And should any ethical norms govern competition between corporations or impact scientific investigation and discovery?
Past Conferences
8th Annual IP Mosaic Conference 2022
7th Annual IP Mosaic Conference 2021
6th Annual IP Mosaic Conference 2020
Find the full Mosaic conference event archive here.
Recent Previous News & Updates
9/1/2023 – Thank you to all our sponsors, speakers, and attendees for their support of the 2022 conference! View the details from last year’s event here.
Program Agenda
Friday, October 27
9:30 – 9:45 am CDT
2:30 – 2:45 pm GMT
Welcome & Remarks
Yolanda M. King, Director & Associate Professor of Law, Center for Intellectual Property, Information & Privacy Law, University of Illinois Chicago School of Law
Lateef Mtima, Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law & Founder and Director, Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice (IIPSJ)
9:45 – 10:50 am CDT
2:45 – 3:50 pm GMT
Plenary Session: International IP and Climate Change
Moderator: Metka Potočnik, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Wolverhampton, Law School and Director of The F-List for Music CIC
Panelists:
Marion (Amy) Dietterich, World Intellectual Property Organization, Global Challenges Division
Antony Taubman, World Trade Organization, Intellectual Property Division
10:50 – 11:00 am CDT
3:50 – 4:00 pm GMT
Break
11:00 am – 12:35 pm CDT
4:00 – 5:35 pm GMT
Paper Presentation Panel 1: IP & Tech
Moderator: Sandra Aistars, Clinical Professor of Law, and Founding Director of the Arts & Entertainment Advocacy Clinic, George Mason University Law School
Presenters:
Blake E Reid — Copyright’s First Responder Problem
Betsy Rosenblatt – Considering the Role of Fairness In Copyright Fair Use.
– 5 min break –
Lantagne – Automating Creative Effort: Free-Riding in an age of Artificial Intelligence
Liza Vertinsky – Patents, Partnerships and AI Innovation Policy.
12:35 – 1:30 pm CDT
5:35 – 6:30 pm GMT
Meal Break
1:30 – 2:55 pm CDT
6:30 – 7:55 pm GMT
Paper Presentation Panel 2: 2023 Ben Liu Scholars
Moderator: Jasmine Abdel-Khalik, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law
Presenters:
Elizabeth Ivwurie – Advancing Intellectual Property Social Justice in the Nigerian Creative Industries: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Path Forward.
Anupriya Dhonchak – A Feminist Approach to Publicity Rights in India.
–5 min Break —
Kay Dunn – Misappropriating Scottish Traditional Knowledge: Empowering Community Ownership Through IP Rights.
Ondrej Woznica – Unraveling the Value Gap: How Property Metaphors Shape Copyright Policy.
2:55 – 3:05 pm CDT
7:55 – 8:05 pm GMT
Break
3:05 – 3:45 pm CDT
8:05 – 8:45 pm GMT
Paper Presentation Panel 3: The Role of Patent Law: from Technicalities to Social Correctives?
Moderator: Betsy Rosenblatt, Professor of Law, Case Western Reserve Law School
Panelists:
Sandra L Rierson and Mimi Afshar, HBCU’s Paving the Road to Recovery from Slavery, Jim Crow, and Persistent Racial Disparities in the USPTO.
Jordi Goodman, The Uncultured PHOSITA.
5:00 – 7:00 pm
HAPPY HOUR for in-person attendees
Saturday, October 28
9:30 – 9:45 am CDT
2:30 – 2:45 pm GMT
Welcome & Remarks
Yolanda M. King, Director & Associate Professor of Law, Center for Intellectual Property, Information & Privacy Law, University of Illinois Chicago School of Law
Lateef Mtima, Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law & Founder and Director, Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice (IIPSJ)
9:45 – 11:10 am CDT
2:45 – 4:10 pm GMT
Paper Presentation Panel 4: IP and Social Action: Ways to Empowerment?
Moderator: Jasmine Abdel-khalik, Professor, UMKC School of Law
Presenters:
Michael P Goodyear, Queer Trademarks.
Bhamati Viswanathan, Women’s Work.
—5 min Break–
Amanda Levendowski, Hard Truths About Soft IP.
Victoria F Phillips, Intellectual Property Clinics—Helping to Empower All Creators.
11:10 – 11:20 am CDT
4:10 – 4:20 pm GMT
Break
11:20 am – 12:35 pm CDT
4:20 – 5:35 pm GMT
Plenary Session: Copyright Behind Bars: At the Intersection of Systemic Incarceration and IP Social Justice
Moderator: John R. Whitman, Ph.D., author, Executive Director, Museum for Black Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Panelists:
Jeanie Austin, Ph.D., Librarian, Jail and Reentry Services, San Francisco Public Library
Wendy Jason, Founder and Director, Justice Arts Coalition, nonprofit national network for those creating art in and around the criminal justice system (invited)
Doran Larson, Ph.D, Professor of Literature, Hamilton College and Founder and Co-Director of the American Prison Writing Archive
Viva R. Moffat, Professor of Law, Co-Director, Intellectual Property and Technology Law Program, Sturm College of Law, University of Denver, advocating for IP rights for currently/formerly incarcerated and society
Fury Young, Founder and Co-Executive Director, Die Jim Crow, the first nonprofit record label for currently and formerly incarcerated artists
12:35 – 1:35 pm CDT
5:35 – 6:35 pm GMT
Meal Break
1:35 – 3:45 pm CDT
6:35 – 8:45 pm GMT
Paper Presentation Panel 5: Music Creators and Socity: System Reboot or Reform to Building Better Partnerships?
Moderator: Sandra Aistars, Clinical Professor of Law, and Founding Director of the Arts & Entertainment Advocacy Clinic, George Mason University Law School
Presenters:
Meredith Rose – Streaming in the Dark: Lessons and Reforms from Behind the NDA Curtain.
Olufunmilayo Arewa, Margaret Chon, and Jacqueline Lipton – Incentive to Create or to Exploit? Music Creation and Copyright Abuse.
–5 min Break —
Metka Potočnik – Misogyny in Music: a Feminist Reading of Performers’ Rights.
Benjamin Bierman – The Music Business, the Other 99 Percent.
–5 min Break —
Sean O’Connor – Copyright as a Matter of Style.
Gilden and Subotnik – Copyright’s Capacity Gap.
3:45 pm CDT
8:45 pm GMT
Closing Remarks
Lateef Mtima, Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law & Founder and Director, Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice (IIPSJ)
Friday, October 28
9:30 – 9:45 am
Welcome & Remarks
Dean Joseph Kearney, Dean and Professor of Law, Marquette University Law School
Lateef Mtima, Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law & Founder and Director, Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice (IIPSJ)
9:45 – 11:00 am
Plenary Session: International IP and Social Justice
Moderator: Lateef Mtima, Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law & Founder and Director, IIPSJ
Madhavi Sunder – IP for Next Pandemic
Metka Potočnik – Multitude of Voices in International IP: World Intellectual Property Organization and Accredited Observers
11:00 – 11:05 am
Break
11:05 am – 12:20 pm
Panel 1: Toward Reparative IP Policy
Moderator: Kali Murray, Professor of Law, Marquette University Law School
Presenters:
Cathay Smith — Cancelling Dr. Seuss
Timothy McFarlin – A Copyright Restored: Mark Twain, Mary Ann Cord, and How to Right a Longstanding Wrong
Trevor Reed – Restorative Justice for Indigenous Culture
12:20 – 12:50 pm
Break
12:50 – 2:35 pm
Panel 2: 2022 Ben Liu Scholars
Moderator: Jasmine Abdel-Khalik, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law
Presenters:
Adithya Variath – TWAIL and Protecting Traditional Knowledge: Perspectives on Decoloniality and Social Justice in IP Law
Jordana Goodman and Khamal Patterson – Access to Justice for Black Inventors
–Break —
Tiffany Nichols – Patenting Automated Race and Ethnicity Classifications: Discerning Epistemic Understandings of Race and Ethnicity Through Patent Literature
Arunima Shastri and Batra – Patentability of Inventions Done In Metaverse and the Regulatory Measures That Need To Be Undertaken
2:35 – 2:45 pm
Break
2:45 – 4:00 pm
Plenary Session 2: Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts v. Goldsmith Amici
Moderator: Tuneen Chisolm, Associate Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law
Panelists:
Tiffany Sandra Aistars, Clinical Professor of Law, and Founding Director of the Arts & Entertainment Advocacy Clinic at GMU Law
Loletta Darden, Visiting Associate Clinical Professor of Law & Director, Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinic, George Washington University Law School
Philippa Loengard, Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts, Columbia Law School
Kevin Madigan, Copyright Alliance
Lateef Mtima, Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law & Founder and Director, IIPSJ
Betsy Rosenblatt, Professor of Law, The University of Tulsa, College of Law
Jeff Sedlik, Photographer, Professor, Art Center College of Design
4:00 – 4:10 pm
Break
4:10 – 5:00 pm
Panel 3: Traditions or Traps? Patent Inventor Access under Review
Moderator: Loletta Darden, Visiting Associate Clinical Professor of Law & Director, Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinic, George Washington University Law School
Presenters:
Sharon Bar-Ziv, Orit Fischman-Afori, Miriam Marcowitz-Bitton – Where The Gender Gap Meets Academic Patenting: An Empirical Study
Colleen Chien – Redefining Progress To Include Diversity In Innovation And Inventorship
5:00 – 6:00 pm
HAPPY (& SOCIAL) HOUR ONLINE
Saturday, October 29
9:30 – 9:40 am
Opening Remarks
• Kali Murray, Professor of Law, Marquette University Law School
• Lateef Mtima, Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law & Founder and Director, IIPSJ
9:40 – 11:55 am
Inaugural Student IP Scholars Roundtable
Moderator: Tuneen Chisolm, Associate Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law
Panelists
Zuri Ward – North Carolina Central University School of Law – Umbrella: Combating Systemic Racism by Providing Black Creators Accessible Tools to Safeguard their Intellectual Property
Commenter – tbd
Drew Emerson – Howard University School of Law – Legal Solutions To Combat The Misapplication of DMCA Claims To Video Game Streaming
Commenter – tbd
Taniya Moore – Howard University School of Law – Protecting Nostalgia: Should Copyright Protection Include A Parallel To Trademark Law’s Incontestability Status?
Commenter – tbd
11:55am – 12:00 pm
Break
12:00 – 1:45 pm
Panel 3: Distribution of Power and IP Stakeholders
Moderator: Lateef Mtima, Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law & Founder and Director, IIPSJ
Presenters:
Metka Potočnik — Collectivity without Solidarity, Inclusion or Democracy: a Feminist Critique of Collective Rights Management of Copyright
Patricia Aufderheide & Brandon Butler — Copyright and Other Obstacles to Text- and Datamining Research: The Need for a Right to Research
–Break–
Niharika Salar & Bernd Justin Jütte — Geographical Indications: Community Rights in a global IP system
Faith Majekolagbe, Assistant Professor, University of Alberta Faculty of Law — Copyright and Equitable Access to Education and Learning for All in Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Times: Towards a Global Fair Use Right?
1:45 – 1:55 pm
Break
1:55 – 3:10 pm
Plenary Session: Wikimedia and Access to Knowledge
Moderator: Shreyanka Mirchandani Changaroth, Wikimedia Race and Knowledge Equity Fellow
Panelists:
Margaret Chon, Donald and Lynda Horowitz Professor for the Pursuit of Justice, Seattle University School of Law
Faith Majekolagbe, Assistant Professor, University of Alberta Faculty of Law and Fellow, Harvard University Berkman Klein Center
Colleen Chien, Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law
Brett Frischmann, Professor of Law, Villanova University School of Law
J. Jan Osei-Tutu, Associate Dean for Diversity, Culture & Inclusion and Professor of Law, Florida International University Law School
Betsy Rosenblatt, Professor of Law, The University of Tulsa College of Law
3:10 – 4:55 pm
Panel 5: IP Boundary Dynamics
Moderator: Jasmine Abdel-Khalik, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law
Panelists:
Tiffany Lukas Goncalves — Preserving the Right of Access to Copyrighted works based on Data Regulation
Sharon Sandeen — The Employee’s Right to Learn
–Break –
Dustin Marlin – The Nightmare of Dream Advertising
Ram Mohan and Aditya Gupta — Mutation of the Trademark Doctrine: A case study in Barbie
4:55 pm
Closing Remarks
Lateef Mtima, Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law & Founder and Director, IIPSJ
Thank you to our Conference Planning Committee!
Conference Planning Committee
Jasmine Abdel-Khalik, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law Kali Murray, Marquette University Law School
Sandra Aistars, George Mason University Law School Janewa Osei-Tutu, Florida International University
Tuneen Chisolm, Howard University School of Law Metka Potocnik, University of Wolverhampton, Law School
Yolanda King University of Illinois Chicago Law Betsy Rosenblatt, The University of Tulsa, College of Law
Lateef Mtima, Howard University School of Law Kara Swanson, Northeastern University School of Law
Since 2014, IIPSJ has sponsored the IP Mosaic Conference. Through the IP Mosaic, IIPSJ collaborates with a law school host to provide a venue in which to explore the social ordering function of IP protection in the total political economy, particularly the law’s social justice obligations in promoting human rights and actualization, cultural and technological progress, and self-determination and nation-building.
The IP Mosaic Conference was established to bring together scholars, law and policy makers, and social activists of diverse and multicultural backgrounds and perspectives to explore progressive, social justice-oriented ideas in intellectual property law, policy, and social activism. Beginning in the late twentieth century, digital information technology and other innovations sparked a paradigm shift in scholarly assessment of the social ordering function of IP protection, exposing the need to critically examine the law’s social justice obligations in promoting human rights, self-determination, cultural progress, and nation-building and evolution. IP law and policy makers traditionally value scholarly analyses in their development and interpretation of IP protection. Progressive, social justice-oriented IP scholarship, especially when infused with the experience and insights of policy makers and social activists, can provide the doctrinal basis for shaping a more socially responsible IP legal regime.
Leading IP Discourse
Leading IP Discourse
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