Digitizing Trade: The Challenge of Crafting Balanced IP and Digital Policy Provisions in the TPP and NAFTA

Date: January 18, 2018 (Thursday)
Time: 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Venue: Academic Conference Room, 11/F Cheng Yu Tung Tower, the University of Hong Kong

Speaker: Professor Michael Geist (Professor of Law, University of Ottawa)

All are welcome!

Abstract: The intellectual property and new digital trade chapters of NAFTA and the TPP have emerged as among the most contentious aspects of the negotiations. For decades, consumers, advocates and technology companies have been stuck in a defensive posture, criticizing more restrictive trade provisions and efforts to impose domestic reforms through trade negotiations. In recent years, however, these groups have been increasingly effective at promoting a positive agenda, including obligations to promote copyright “balance” and protect user rights that underpin the Internet ecosystem. University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist will discuss the implications of using trade agreements to govern intellectual property and digital policy, describing how a positive, pro-innovation and balanced digital agenda in modern trade deals can be achieved.

About the speaker: Michael Geist is a law professor at the University of Ottawa where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law. He has obtained a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees from Cambridge University in the UK and Columbia Law School in New York, and a Doctorate in Law (J.S.D.) from Columbia Law School. Dr. Geist is a syndicated columnist on technology law issues with his regular column appearing in the Toronto Star, the Hill Times, and the Tyee. Dr. Geist is the editor of several copyright books, the editor of several monthly technology law publications, and the author of a popular blog on Internet and intellectual property law issues.