You are invited to a conference about one of the hottest topics for the coming century . . .

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IMPLICATIONS OF THE GLOBAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE

The Conference Summary Report is now available

Wednesday, 16 October 1996
1:00 to 6:00 pm

American University
4400 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20016-8071

The conference is free and open to the public.

This will be the 1996 Conference of AU's Global Intellectual Property Project, a multi disciplinary research group.

Unlike many other conferences on intellectual property, our goal is to provide a forum for public discussion, so the meeting will be free and open to the public.

The conference focuses on the intellectual property implications of the Global Information Infrastructure (GII). What should be protected and how on the Internet? How is the answer to this question complicated by the transnational nature of the GII, the ephemeral character of the content, and the rapid evolution of the World Wide Web?

At a time when important issues are on the public agenda, these questions are particularly important to discuss among policy makers, representatives of industry and user groups, and scholars.

Legislation regarding changes in copyright rules for the Internet is currently pending in the United States Senate and the House.

High level policy recommendations, referred to as green and white papers, on intellectual property and the Internet are circulating in Japan, the European Union, Australia, and other countries.

The new Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Provisions (TRIPS) of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade provides a new means of intellectual property protection.

Digitized content provides a new mode of replication in which the copy is identical to the original, leading to inherent problems for protection.

Social expectations regarding fair use and value are changing rapidly, and there are often conflicts between governments and between users and providers.

Program (subject to change):

Opening Comments: Dr. Michael R. Nelson, Special Assistant for Information Technology, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Panel 1: Where are we and how did we get here? Current issues and problems of intellectual property and the GII

• Chair: Ted Henke, Atlantic Mutual Insurance Companies
• Chris Meyer, Meyer and Klipper and formerly of the Patent and Trademark Office
• Adam Eisgrau, American Library Association
• William Burrington, Director, Law and Public Policy, America On-Line
• Peter Jaszi, American University, Washington College of Law
• John Perry Barlow, co-founder Electronic Frontier Foundation

Break

Panel 2: Where are we going? Perspectives on the direction of Intellectual Property Protection on the GII. (panel begins at 3:15)

• Chair: Renee Marlin-Bennett, American University, School of International Service
• Manuel Gameros, Mexican Ministry of Finance
• Edward Fink, World Bank
• Edward Malloy, Department of State
• Jeffrey Crigler, Vice President, IBM infoMarket
• Ed Comer, American University, School of International Service
• James Boyle, American University, Washington College of Law and author of "Shamans, Software, and Spleens: Law and the Construction of the Information Society"

Closing Remarks: Declan McCullagh, Wired magazine (to begin about 4:55)

5:15 Reception for speakers and audience



Office of the Division of International Politics and Foreign Policy
School of International Service
American University
202-885-1843

Conference Sponsors:
and

Organizing Committee:

Renee Marlin-Bennett
Associate Professor and GLIPP Director
voice 202-885-1636
Karen Smith staff assistant: 202-885-1843
fax: 202-885-2494
e-mail: RMARLIN@american.edu

Erran Carmel
Assistant Professor
Kogod College of Business Administration
e-mail: ecarmel@american.edu

Carole Ganz-Brown
National Science Foundation
e-mail: cganz@nsf.gov

last update: Oct 22, 1996