CfP: Openness and Intellectual Property, Workshop Pennsylvania 22–24 July 2015

"The International Society for the History and Theory of Intellectual Property will hold its 7th annual workshop at the University of Pennsylvania, July 22 – 24, 2015. Philadelphia is the birthplace of the US Constitution, which empowers Congress to create IP laws that 'promote the progress of science and the useful arts.' And the University of Pennsylvania was founded by inventor, printer, and IP-​skeptic Benjamin Franklin, who wrote in his autobiography, 'That, as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously.' Today, there are many movements to promote open access scholarship, open source software, open data, and open culture. What does it mean for intellectual property to be open? And how do current calls for openness connect with the history, theoretical underpinnings, and national traditions of intellectual property? ..."