The Conference Program

Thursday, March 8, 2001

1:00-5:00:
Intellectual Property in a Borderless World: Globalization and Harmonization

The reach of the Internet and the power of digital technology together create a challenge to traditional concepts of national intellectual property law. These problems include the practical and legal difficulty of enforcement of existing laws, the need for effective mechanisms for resolving disputes, and the challenge to copyright and trademark law presented by the fact of continual technological change. This session will explore the problems created by globalization and by the search for ways to
harmonize the laws of the United States with those of the rest of the world.

Friday, March 9, 2001

9:00-12:15:
Access Limitation as the New Protection Paradigm
This session will consider generally the problems and opportunities presented by the growing use of devices limiting access to intellectual property, particularly the consequences of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

2:00-3:45:
Information, Research, and Protection of and Limitations on Data and Databases.
Building on the morning session, this session will revisit  proposals for the protection of data and databases and the problems posed for scholarly research both by such protection and by operation of present intellectual property laws. The panel will consider how, if at all, the product of research can be protected in a manner consistent with society’s need for free access to information, in an environment of instantaneous mass access to, and redistribution of digital data. In addition to application of
access limiting devices, the panel will consider the consequences for both owners and users of databases and data, of the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act and pending Congressional database protection legislation.

4:00-6:00:
The Impact of Technological Change on the way in which Scholars, Educational Institutions, Libraries, and Archives, Deal with Intellectual Property
This session, in multi-parts, will first continue and build on the earlier session discussion of scholarly research, and then move to the specific challenge presented by the development of distance learning devices and programs.

Saturday, March 10, 2001

9:00-10:15
Looking Ahead and Shaping the Future:
Here we attempt to extrapolate present developments to the next quarter century.

The panel will look at the impact of technology and intellectual property laws on the creative process from the future perspective: What would we be talking about if the Conference were being held in March, 2025?

10:30-12:00
Wrap-Up: What Can and Should We be Doing Now?
We will attempt both to summarize and synthesize what, if any, consensus has emerged from the proceedings and find direction for future interdisciplinary activity