About the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property
PIJIP works to advance access to information for teachers, students, artists, programmers, bloggers, inventors, scientists, doctors, patients, and others who depend on it to make essential cultural and economic contributions to society. PIJIP seeks to assure that their voices are heard and interests are recognized. PIJIP accomplishes this through projects they undertake dealing with intellectual property issues across the world, by hosting events emphasizing its values in the Washington DC area, and through the advancement of information via news articles, blog entries and more posted on its website.
Mission
PIJIP is dedicate to three core functions:
- Supporting student learning and engagement through teaching, advising and creating experiential learning opportunities;
- Helping to describe and promote the public interest in information law and policy through research, publications, public events, advocacy, and the provision of legal services
- Promoting scholarly research by creating spaces for deliberation and collaboration, promoting broad access to research materials and tools, and shaping research agendas.
Staffed by an internationally-recognized intellectual property faculty with expertise in a range of subject-matter areas, PIJIP supports a curriculum of over 35 information law and related courses; operates a pioneering intellectual property legal clinic; supervises two specialized LLM programs; sponsors conferences, workshops, and symposia; and conducts investigations of cutting edge domestic, comparative, and international law issues.
PIJIP Projects
PIJIP's work is focused in six core areas:
1. Policy and Law Reform - PIJIP is actively engaged in the analysis and improvement of copyright, patent, and trademark laws. PIJIP faculty, staff, and students file amicus briefs in the Supreme Court and Federal appellate courts, draft model legislative provisions, testify before Congress, and consult with non-profit and intergovernmental organizations as well as with domestic and foreign legislators. Through its Intellectual Property Law Clinic, PIJIP has helped to directly influence copyright reform through its DMCA Exemption comment submissions to the Copyright Office.
2. Fair Use and Pubic Media - PIJIP strives to assure that the copyright fair use doctrine remains robust, in both analog and digital contexts. Through it's pioneering
Intellectual Property Law Clinic, PIJIP provides client counseling regarding fair use and related doctrines. It collaborates with AU's Center for Social Media, and a range of non-profit organizations, to promote interpretations of intellectual property and communications law that facilitate the growth of public media, in fields such as documentary product and user-generated content.
3. Access to Medicines - PIJIP provides research assistance and representation to local and international organizations, developing country governments, state and local governments, and others seeking to facilitate access to affordable medications in the U.S. and abroad. Some of PIJIP's recent activities have included submitting briefs in federal appellate courts and testifying before legislatures in support of state efforts to regulate medicine price,s analyzing the impacts of free trade agreements on access to medicines, and proviign legal research to AIDS activists in South AFrica investigating competition claims against multinational pharmaceutical companies.
4. Open Access and Digital Sharing - PIJIP's Open Access and Digital Sharing project was launched in 2008 to promote scholarship and advocacy directed toward broadening access over the Internet to scholarly articles and other copyrighted works. The project hosts scholarly meetings and provides analysis and representations to librarians and other public interest organizations that advocate for broader public access to scientific, artistic, literary and other sources of information essential to social and economic progress. The project seeks to ensure that the power of digital networks and technologies is used to broaden global participation in the creation and distribution of knowledge and cultural works.
6. Trade, Human Rights, and Development - PIJIP advises developing country governments, intergovernmental organizations, and non-profit organizations on the intersection of intellectual property, trade law, human rights, implementation of the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), and the negotiation and implementation of intellectual property provisions in Free Trade Agreements. PIJIP hosts and participates in international workshops and conferences on intellectual property and development.
About This Website
The
front page of the PIJIP site is a portal current news items, blog posts, and a quick look at upcoming events. The links on the left sidebar are described below:
- Faculty - Biographical and contact information for our intellectual property faculty and PIJIP staff.
- Research and Advocacy - Current PIJIP research projects, along with a comprehensive archive of past PIJIP work product and IP faculty accomplishments can be found here. Items are organized under various themes. PIJIP strongly encourages both students and research advocates to take advantage of the information listed here.
- Events - Current and past PIJIP events along with in-depth information are found here.
- Student Resources - Students interested in pursuing studies related to PIJIP can find an updated IP course listing here, along with information on WCL's IP Clinic and LLM program. PIJIP also strives to maintain a currently listing of IP related opportunities, including scholarships, externships, fellowships, writing contests, and student opportunities within PIJIP.
- IP Clinic - Link to a description of the Washington College of Law Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Law Clinic and website.
- Curriculum - Listing and description of all IP and PIJIP-related courses that have been taught at WCL.
- LLM Specialization - Information on WCL's two LL.M specialization in Intellectual Property Law.
- Email List - Direct access to PIJIP's four email lists which strive to share information between attorneys and advocates across the world (click on the link to expand the tab and reveal our four mailing lists).
- Links to Other IP Resources - A large compendium of resources from US Government official websites to advocacy blogs to trade and industry association sites that will help anyone interested in learning more about intellectual property and PIJIP's goals.
In Bilski v. Kappos, the U.S. Supreme Court will address limitations on patentable subject matter in the context of a business method invention, analyzing a body of case law in such a way that some say could call into question the validity of many other patents and types of claims, while others argue it is not restrictive enough. PIJIP and the FCBA hosted a Bilskipanel discussion of experts shortly after the Court heard oral arguments.
