The Fifth Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest brought 450 researchers, activists, policymakers, and business stakeholders to Washington DC on September 27-29, 2018 for a wide-ranging discussion of forms of knowledge governance.  Major themes included the role of IP regulation in shaping access to knowledge and medicine, the balance between the rights of users, internet companies, and rightsholders in online speech and expression, and the convergence of regulatory conversations around trade, data protection, e-commerce, and platform regulation.  The Assembly is a founder and co-organizer of the Congress, together with the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP) at American University and Health Action International.

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The Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest is a semi-annual gathering for scholars and policy advocates working on intellectual property from a public-interest perspective. Its main purpose is to help re-articulate the public-interest dimensions of intellectual property policy by supporting research on the intersection of knowledge systems, regulation, and globalization. 

The theme for the 2015 Congress was "Three Decades of Openness; Two Decades of TRIPS," reflecting the maturation of many of the pivotal ideas and forms of governance in the sector and the need to assess their performance and potential for the years ahead. Individual tracks were organized around "Openness," "Users Rights," "Development," and "Access to Medicines." 

The fourth Congress attracted 400 participants to New Delhi between December 15th-17th, 2015, and was hosted by the Center for Internet and Society, a leading Indian NGO on information, the internet, and innovation policy issues.

The Third Global Congress was held in Cape Town, South Africa, December 9th-13th, 2013. Over 250 researchers, practitioners, and policymakers discussed new work and policy developments around users' rights and development-centered IP policy.  The event was held jointly with the capstone conference for the OpenAIR project, which brings together researcher on innovation policy in Africa.

The American Assembly is a founder and co-organizer of the Global Congress, which provides a forum for discussing and advancing evidence-based, public-interest intellectual property policies that balance the needs of creators and the public.  The third Congress was funded by IDRC, the Open Society Foundation, GIZ, and contributions from partnering organizations.

Publications:

The Third Global Congress Research Survey

The Second Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest, held between December 15th-18th, 2012, brought 250 researchers and activists from 40 countries to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event promoted the development of a "positive agenda" for public-interest intellectual property policy.  Major themes  included the expanded use of 'open access' materials in education, the defense of due process in copyright enforcement, and the expansion of limitations and exceptions to allow for greater developing-country flexibility in IP law to meet domestic development needs.

The conference was hosted by the Center for Technology and Society at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Rio de Janeiro.  Co-sponsors included The American Assembly, American University in Washington, DC, Open A.I.R., The Centre for Internet and Society in Bangalore, and The International Centre for Trade and Sustainble Development in Geneva.

Links:

Keynote videos

The First Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest was held in August 25th-28th, 2011, at the American University in Washington, DC.  The primary goals of the Congress were to articulate a positive agenda for IP policy reform and to strengthen international capacities for evidence-based policy making. Some 200 participants from over 30 countries over 3 days, leading to the drafting and signing of the Washington Declaration on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest.

Co-sponsors included The American Assembly, The Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property at American University, the Center for Technology and Society at the Getulio Vargas Foundation (Brazil), and the Center for International Trade and Sustainable Development (Geneva).

Publications:

The Washington Declaration on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest (Sept. 2011)