A New Direction in Intellectual Property Treaty-making? Winning Against the Odds for Human Rights, Equity, and Indigenous Peoples

The School of Law, University of Leeds, 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.

Theme:

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.

Programme 

Day 1
9:00-9:30 Registration
9:30 – 9:45 Welcome speech – Professor Louise Ellison, Head of School, School of Law
Opening Remarks - Prof Graham Dutfield, School of Law, University of Leeds
9:45 – 10:30 Plenary 1- Professor Chidi Oguamanam, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law (Hybrid)
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, Brimingham 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 - James Love, Director of Knowledge Ecology International.
14: 45 – 15:00 Q & A with James Love moderated by Owain Williams
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
Adyasha Samal, Institute for European Tort Law, Vienna (Hybrid)
16:00 – 16:15 Second Panel Q& A
16:15- 17:15 Roundtable Discussion moderated by Prof Anna Lawson, University of Leeds
Speakers:
Graham Dutfield, University of Leeds
Bita Amani, Queen’s University
Kieran Mitchell, University of York
César Ramírez-Montes, University of Leeds
17:15 – 17: 30 Roundtable Q & A + closing remarks
17:30 – Reception, followed by conference dinner for speaker

Day 2
10:00 – 10:45 Plenary 3 - 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 Third 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 Mohiqi, Department of Law, University of Agder, Norway
12:00 – 12:15 Q & A Third panel
12:15 – 13:15 Lunch
13:15 – 14:00 Plenary 4 - Professor Ruth Okediji, Harvard University Faculty of Law
14:00 – 14:15 Q & A with Professor Ruth Okediji moderated by Prof Graham Dutfield
14:15 - 15:00 Fourth 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 Fourth panel
15:15 – 16:00 Concluding Discussion and Closing Remarks – César Ramírez-Monte

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