EVENT: Intellectual Property and Sustainable Development

Posted by Maggie on 1 August, 2018

Join some of the leading thinkers in their fields for a one-day symposium on 6 September 2018, on the relationship between intellectual property and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

As well as special guest Associate Professor Sara Bannerman, the Canada Research Chair in Communication Policy and Governance at McMaster University, this event will feature speakers from QUT, Griffith University, and the University of Queensland.

Associate Professor Sara Bannerman – Canada Research Chair in Communication Policy and Governance, McMaster University

This event is part of the research theme of international trade and sustainable development at the QUT IP and Innovation Law Research Program. It will cover issues such as access to knowledge, public health, access to clean energy and climate change, and the global economy. Particular focus will be given to global issues within the remit of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Development Agenda.

This event considers the relationship between intellectual property and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The new Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres has expressed concerns about the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. ‘Implementation has begun, but the clock is ticking… The rate of progress in many areas is far slower than needed to meet the targets by 2030.’ The Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization Francis Gurry has emphasised the interconnections between intellectual property and the Innovation Goal (SG9). He also stressed that innovation has an impact on a number of other SDGs, such as SDG2 (End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture), SDG3, SDG6 (Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all), SDG7 (Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all), SDG 8, SDG11 (Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable), and SDG13 (Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts).

Special guest

Associate Professor Sara Bannerman
Canada Research Chair in Communication Policy and Governance, McMaster University

Speakers

Dr Md Shahiduzzaman – Research Fellow, QUT Business School, Management, QUT
Muhammad Zaheer Abbas – PhD Law Candidate, QUT
Dr Rowena Maguire – Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Law School, QUT
David J. Jefferson, JD – PhD Candidate, University of Queensland
Dr Carol Richards – Senior Lecturer, School of Management, Business School, QUT
Professor Charles Lawson – Griffith University
Associate Professor Saiful Karim – Faculty of Law, Law School, QUT
Professor Virginia Barbour – Director AOASG, QUT
Professor Matthew Rimmer – Professor of Intellectual Property and Innovation Law, Faculty of Law, QUT
Sanath Sameera Wijesinghe – PhD Researcher, QUT
Jocelyn Bosse – PhD Candidate, University of Queensland
Dr Kamalesh Adhikari – Research Fellow, University of Queensland
Dr Peter Walters – Senior Lecturer, University of Queensland
Dr Frances Humphries – Griffith University

Please follow the link to register – http://bit.ly/IPandSD

IPIL Symposium: The Economics of Creativity

Posted by Kirsty on 18 July, 2018

The Intellectual Property and Innovation Law Program (IPIL), the Digital Media Research Centre (DMRC) and the QUT Faculty of Law recently hosted the ‘The Economics of Creativity’ Symposium to discuss the legislation pertaining to the digital market.

Professor Ruth Towse, Professor in Economics of Creative Industries at Bournemouth University (UK), Dr Kevin Sanson, Senior Lecturer in the School of Communication at QUT, Professor David Throsby AO, Professor of Economics at Macquarie University, Associate Professor Nicolas Suzor, Principal Research Fellow at QUT Faculty of Law and Dr Kylie Pappalardo, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at QUT Faculty of Law, offered a comprehensive perspective on how professionals from the legal, economic and creative industries work together to balance the needs of consumers and creators.

Professor David Throsby AO, Professor of Economics at Macquarie University and Professor Ruth Towse, Professor in Economics of Creative Industries at Bournemouth University (UK)

The event was inspired by two empirical projects conducted by Dr Pappalardo and Associate Professor Suzor in 2017.

In their first project, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN)sponsored Associate Professor Suzor, Dr Pappalardo and colleagues in the DMRC to research how Australian consumers access digital markets. The project revealed the discrepancies between Australian and American consumers regarding the access and costs of film, TV, music and games. The results of the project are available at the Digital Media Observatory.

In their second project, Imagination foregone: A qualitative study of the reuse practices of Australian creators, funded by the Australian Digital Alliance (ADA), Dr Pappalardo and Associate Professor Suzor found that Australian creators are intimidated by licensing fees to reuse content and view the amounts of licensing fees as unfair and stifling.

At the Symposium, Professor Throsby spoke on his own work into this area, Making Art Work: An Economic Study of Professional Artists in Australia, and explained that although artists contribute 60% of their time to creative work, less than 40% of their income is related to this.

The Symposium’s discussion also focused upon the dangers of digitising integral parts of our cultural history. Dr Sanson questioned how society’s move towards services such as Netflix impacts small, local and obscure movies, which would once have been preserved on disc.

To answer this question, Dr Pappalardo, Associate Professor Suzor and Dr Sanson plan to continue work on the Digital Media Observatory project.

Following the event, Dr Pappalardo and Associate Professor Suzor were awarded an Institute for Future Environments Catapult grant. In collaboration with academics from the Creative Industries and Science and Engineering Faculties, this project will investigate how blockchain can help publishers adjust to new digital markets.

The importance of interdisciplinary practice in this area was emphasised by Dr Pappalardo.

‘In order to understand how the internet and digital markets are really affecting creators, such as their impacts on how creators can market and sell their works and earn a living, it is critical that economists, creators, creative industries scholars and copyright lawyers work together. This is a complex problem that requires many minds from different disciplines to solve,’ she said.

To keep up to date with these projects, subscribe to the Faculty of Law News and Events.

Genetic Discrimination in Australia: A Timely Reappraisal

Posted by Kirsty on 29 June, 2018

Professor Margaret Otlowski joined the Queensland Genomics Health Alliance and the Australian Centre for Health Law Research to deliver a public lecture on the risk of genetic discrimination in life insurance policies.

(L-R) Professor Belinda Bennett, QUT, Mr David Bunker, QGHA, Professor Margaret Otlowski, University of Tasmania

Professor Otlowski is a Professor of Law and the Deputy Director of the Centre for Law and Genetics at the University of Tasmania. She was the Dean of the Law Faculty at the University of Tasmania from 2010 to 2017 and was appointed as the University’s Pro Vice-Chancellor (Culture and Wellbeing) in August 2017.

Professor Belinda Bennett, Professor of Health Law and New Technologies at the QUT Faculty of Law, welcomed guests to the lecture alongside Mr David Bunker, Executive Director of the Queensland Genomics Health Alliance (QGHA). David spoke briefly about QGHA’s mission, objectives and the research programs it supports.

The lecture, ‘Genetic Discrimination in Australia: A Timely Reappraisal’ is part of a program of work funded by QGHA in which leading researchers at QUT, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, University of Queensland, and other institutions are working on the ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) of genomics.

Professor Margaret Otlowski presenting ‘Genetic Discrimination in Australia: A Timely Reappraisal’

In her lecture Professor Otlowski reviewed the recent Commonwealth Inquiry into the life insurance industry which recommended the introduction of a moratorium on the use of genetic information for underwriting in life insurance. She discussed evidence that the fear of genetic discrimination is inhibiting the uptake of genetic testing in clinical and research settings. Professor Otlowski argued in favour of implementing the inquiry’s recommendations in order to help reassure patients, their families, clinicians and researchers that genetic testing will not have a negative impact on future applications for life insurance.

‘Professor Otlowski’s lecture highlights the importance of considering the ethical and legal dimensions of genomic medicine,’ said Professor Bennett, QUT Faculty of Law.

For further information about the QGHA, visit their website.

National Reconciliation Week 2018 @ QUT Law

Posted by Maggie on 30 May, 2018

On Tuesday 29 May, Faculty of Law staff gathered for a morning tea as part of National Reconciliation Week.

National Reconciliation Week is a time when we can reflect on Australia’s reconciliation journey. The theme for NRW2018 was ‘Don’t Keep History a Mystery: Learn. Grow. Share.’ and we are encouraged to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories to help us grow as a nation.

Thousands of events were held across the country during National Reconciliation Week, and each year it’s an opportunity for us to think about how we can contribute to reconciliation as a faculty.

Food for the morning tea was provided by the First Food Co, a catering company specialising in bush foods. Gold-coin donations were collected and will go to Reconciliation Australia. Thanks to Wendy Cusack, Bianca Hill-Jarro and Hope Johnson for their assistance in organising and preparing for the event.

Reconciliation is an ongoing process, so for more information and ideas about how you can contribute, explore the Reconciliation Australia website and read QUT’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan.

Keep an eye out for other reconciliation events coming up at QUT during NAIDOC week (8-15 July) and Murri-Ailan Way (8-10 August).