Introduction

The past few decades have been witness to a number of important developments with respect to the global intellectual property (IP) system, including shifts in focus between multilateralism and bilateralism/regionalism; growing recognition of the various ways in which IP intersects with and impacts areas including human rights, development, trade, and social justice; broad acknowledgement of the economic value of many IP rights; and important theoretical interventions that have challenged the values underlying the global IP system.

These developments have occurred alongside several other events, changes, and crises that have altered the landscape of our global communities. Chief among them are climate change; armed conflicts; the COVID-19 pandemic; economic changes to work; technological shifts including those relating to the internet and artificial intelligence, and their role in society; and growing recognition of the inequities that exist within and between societies as well as the ways in which these inequities are reinforced and maintained through systemic discrimination and ongoing colonialism.

Given these developments, changes, and crises, what is the future of IP law and policy? Featuring contributions from scholars from across Canada and around the world, this collection offers insights into eighteen possible futures for the global IP system.

Collectively, these chapters re-envision international agreements; rethink Canadian IP law; argue for the creation of space for Indigenous legal traditions; highlight the promises and perils of technology as it relates to IP; expose inequities and injustices, and provide possible pathways to correct them.