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Yesterday my new course on Global Intellectual Property Policy & Social Justice began at the University of Ottawa. The seminar starts with an overview of global knowledge governance structures, and then canvasses 7 thematic topics involving intersections among intellectual property policy, technological innovation and matters of human rights or social justice.  Course modules include lessons on copyright, culture and expression; unlocking learning materials; patents & population health; agbiotech & food security; IP & the environment; protecting indigenous knowledge and information communication technologies. We wrap up with a forward-looking analysis of the ongoing development agenda at the WIPO and elsewhere.
Each lesson includes an introduction to pertinent policy questions and an overview of key international institutions and agreements. For every topic, I've also invited a guest who is doing practical work - with a national or international policymaking body, through an inter- or non-governmental organization, or in academia, for example - to help facilitate our discussions and demonstrate how the subject matter translates from theory into practice.
Within this framework, students are given the opportunity to shape coverage of each topic by posing "orienting questions" in our online chat forum, which will be used to steer our in-class discussions. Students also engage not only with the issues but also with each other by posting "responses" to their classmates' questions, and debating those during class. Their major assignment fosters an ethic of service and of social purpose, as well as academic excellence, by allowing students to custom-design an "impact project proposal" around the course issue they're most passionate about. The goal is to translate idealism into action. More on course assignments and logistics here.
My current research and writing projects provided the impetus for designing a course like this, but in implementing the concept I benefited greatly from looking at past and current courses taught by peers such as Amy Kapczynski, Maggie Chon, Sean Flynn, Madhavi Sunder, Graham Dutfield, Peter Yu, Rosemary Coombe and others too.
I believe, however, that this course is unique because it is designed specifically for first-year law students, most of whom who have never been exposed to either intellectual property or international law. It's an introduction to socio-legal policymaking, not advanced technical studies. This is all part of an innovative curriculum reform at the University of Ottawa, which still includes but now expands on the traditional 1L course offerings. New subjects range from "Critical Issues in Restorative Justice" and "Aboriginal Legal Mechanisms" to "Cyberfeminism" and "Laws of Robotics."
Because the course is brand new, I don't expect it to be completely glitch-free. But based on yesterday's first meeting with the students, I couldn't be more excited to give this a run.
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