UIC Law’s “Intersections in Intellectual Property Law” conference to focus on health, social justice, privacy and antitrust issues

Even as COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out, a critical challenge is ensuring intellectual property rights do not impede access to health in underserved communities around the country. Fierce disagreements exist around compulsory licensing and patent pledges of these critical technologies even in the face of widespread social justice concerns.

Separately, the intersection between antitrust and issues like data privacy, competition and social inequality make headlines worldwide as Facebook, Google and other Big Tech companies fight allegations of abuses of their market power.

These are but a few key topics in an increasingly complex world that require a fresh way of looking at the law, not in silos, but across them. To do so, UIC John Marshall Law School Center for Intellectual Property, Information & Privacy Law will be offering its inaugural “Intersections in IP” conference on March 12.

The one-day program will be completely online with more than 30 conference faculty, five sessions and virtual networking opportunities throughout the day. The virtual conference platform supports a seamless transition between virtual networking and lively panel discussions, with a host of features for attendees to interact with and showcase conference sponsors.

Other topics featured at the conference include functionality and infringement at the intersection of design, trade dress and copyright law, as well as the Supreme Court case involving Google and Oracle’s copyrighted software code.

The conference features highly interactive sessions with newsmakers in the IP, social justice, privacy and technology communities.  A striking feature is its blend of corporate, governmental, civil society organization, practitioner and academic perspectives. The diverse conference faculty hails from 17 cities, 12 states and three continents.

“As the legal challenges we face become more complex, so does the need to bring together experts who can speak across their traditional disciplines,” said Professor Daryl Lim, Director of the Center for Intellectual Property, Information & Privacy Law.  “Too often, the conversations occur in isolation, even though another area of law sits right next door.”

For more information on the conference, or to register, please visit: https://mailchi.mp/uic.edu/intersections2021.

Law firms and organizations interested in group registration and sponsorship opportunities should contact Professor Daryl Lim at daryllim@uic.edu or Erik Fagrelius at efagrel@uic.edu.