A New Direction in Intellectual Property Treaty-making? Winning Against the Odds for Human Rights, Equity, and Indigenous Peoples
- Date: Thursday 8 May 2025, 9:00 – 17:00
- Location: Liberty Building
- Cost: Free
This conference aims to contribute to global discussions on IP treaty-making and explore how marginalised groups can successfully influence treaty outcomes.
A New Direction in Intellectual Property Treaty-making? Winning Against the Odds for Human Rights, Equity, and Indigenous Peoples
The School of Law is hosting a two-day international conference on “A New Direction in Intellectual Property Treaty-Making?” on 8–9 May 2025. The conference is part-funded by the Society of Legal Scholars.
About the Event
Since the World Trade Organization introduced the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) in 1995, global intellectual property (IP) standards have elevated significantly, often favouring rights holders from high-income countries. This conference will focus on two major post-TRIPS treaties negotiated under WIPO: the 2013 Marrakesh Treaty and the 2024 WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property Rights, Genetic Resources, and Associated Traditional Knowledge. These treaties represent a departure from traditional IP norms that predominantly benefit corporations in the Global North. By expanding the scope of non-infringing activity or re-balancing rights with the interests of vulnerable groups, they promote fundamental legal change in favour of the (hitherto) unfavoured.
This conference aims to contribute to global discussions on IP treaty-making, enhance synergies between intangible property and sustainable human development, and explore how marginalised groups, such as Indigenous peoples and persons with disabilities, can successfully influence treaty outcomes.
Key Questions to be Addressed:
- Why and how were these treaties adopted despite significant opposition from economically and politically powerful interests?
- What lessons from previous IP global negotiations facilitated their successful adoption?
- Are these treaties outliers, or do they represent a broader trend toward more equitable IP standards?
- What can academics do to influence the creation of international IP norms to serve the interests of people experiencing poverty and exclusion?
- How has the Marrakesh Treaty influenced the advancement of disability rights within international human rights frameworks? What lessons can be drawn from its implementation to improve access to knowledge and cultural participation for persons with disabilities in future international treaties?
- What expectations are realistic for the 2024 WIPO Treaty in terms not just of transparency but enhancing fair and equitable relations between Indigenous peoples, businesses, and governments?
Programme
| Day 1 | |
| 9:00 - 9:30 | Registration |
| 9:30 - 9:45 | Welcome speech - ProfessorLouise Ellison, Head of School, School of Law Opening Remarks - Professor Graham Dutfield, School of Law, University of Leeds |
| 9:45 - 10:30 | Plenary 1 Professor Chidi Oguamanam, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law |
| 10:30 - 10:45 | Q & A with Professor Chidi Oguamanam moderated by Professor Subhajit Basu |
| 10:45 - 11:00 | Tea/Coffee Break |
| 11:00 - 12:45 | First Panel Chair: Amrita Mukherjee, University of Leeds Speakers: Abhijeet Kumar, University of Leicester Kay Dunn, Birmingham City University Temi Odusanya, Robert Gordon University |
| 12:45 - 13:00 | Q&A First Panel |
| 13:00 - 14:00 | Lunch |
| 14:00 - 14:45 | Plenary 2 Jamie Love, Director of Knowledge Ecology International |
| 14:45 - 15:00 | Q & A with Jamie Love moderated by Andrea Zappalaglio |
| 15:00 - 15:15 | Tea/coffee break |
| 15:15 - 16: 00 | Second Panel Chair: Amaka Vanni, University of Leeds Speakers: Jocelyn Bosse, Queens University Belfast Morten Tvedt, Norway Inlandet University (Lillehammer) Adyasha Samal, Institute for European Tort Law, Vienna |
| 16:00 - 16:15 | Second Panel Q&A |
| 16:15- 17:00 | Roundtable Discussion moderated by Professor Anna Lawson, University of Leeds Graham Dutfield, University of Leeds Kieron Mitchell, University of York César Ramírez-Montes, University of Leeds |
| 17:00 - 17: 30 | Roundtable Q & A + closing remarks |
| 17:30 - 19: 00 | Reception/conference dinner |
| Day 2 | |
| 10:00 - 10:45 | Plenary 1 Brendan Tobin, Independent consultant |
| 10:45 - 11:00 | Q& A with Brendan Tobin moderated by Ioanna Lapatoura |
| 11:00 - 11:15 | Tea/coffee break |
| 11:15 - 12:00 | First Panel Chair: Rebecca Moosavian, University of Leeds Speakers: Anson Jose (Hybrid), Inter University Centre for IPR Studies, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi, Kerala Paramita Dasgupta (Hybrid), Centre for Law & Technology, & Director, Centre for Health Laws & Policy, NUJS Kolkata Murtaza MohiqiI, Department of Law, University of Agder, Norway |
| 12:00 - 12:15 | Q & A First panel |
| 12:15 - 13:15 | Lunch |
| 13:15 - 14:00 | Plenary 2 Professor Ruth Okediji, Harvard University Faculty of Law |
| 14:00 - 14:15 | Q & A with Professor Ruth Okediji moderated by Professor Graham Dutfield |
| 14:15 - 15:00 | Second Panel Chair: Igor Szpotakowski, University of Leeds Speakers: Lele Xu, University of Oxford Ataul KARIM, University of Oxford Kang ZHANG, University of Bradford |
| 15:00 - 15:15 | Q & A Second panel |
| 15:15 - 16:00 | Conference output and Closing Remarks - César Ramírez-Montes |
Conference Organising Committee:
Graham Dutfield, School of Law
Subhajit Basu, School of Law
Ioanna Lapatoura, School of Law
Cesar Ramirez Montes, School of Law
Rebecca Moosavian, School of Law
Igor Szpotakowski, School of Law
Amaka Vanni, School of Law