Conversations on IP Laws in Toronto

About the author: Si-Yu Chen ’18 is a Stanford Master of the Science of Law (J.S.M.) and recipient of an FSI Conference Grant.

The 2018 Law and Society Conference took place in Toronto, Canada this year.

Thank you to the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies for financially supported in my travel to present my research at this conference. I presented my paper with other two talented scholars in a session called “Comparative Intellectual Property Across Cultures and Traditions.” Professor Rojas from Centro de Investigacion Docencia Economicas (CIDE) presented her paper about the creation dynamics in Mexican indigenous communities. Professor Laura R. Ford from Bard College took us to revisit the question of ancient roots in intellectual property and Roman Law. Since my research is in geographical indications, I had a vivid discussions about the intellectual property rights of the community with those scholars. Professor Ford argued that she thinks what IP laws have overlooked is the States’ interest behind them. Professor Rojas contends that traditional knowledge in indigenous community is hard to categorize in the current IP law framework.

I found that the meetings provided a unique opportunity for me to discuss the issues across disciplines and theoretical traditions. Although all of our research covers different areas, the exchanging ideas was rewarding and fruitful. How to protect indigenous and specific community rights still remains unclear to many countries, but I am thrilled that people care and want to seek the best to preserve their cultural heritage either through intellectual property law or other new mechanisms.