The Illusion of More

Intellectual Property & Social Justice with Professor Lateef Mtima

Episode Summary

In this episode, I talk with Professor Mtima about how and why he and his colleagues approach intellectual property from a social justice perspective.

Episode Notes

"Lateef Mtima is a Professor of Law at the Howard University School of Law. After graduating with honors from Amherst College, Professor Mtima received his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School, where he was the co-founder and later editor-in-chief of the Harvard BlackLetter Journal." Visit Professor Mtima's website.

Show Contents

• 1:07 - Defining social justice in an IP context.
• 7:54 - Distinguishing between social justice and predatory practice
• 11:45 - How the conversation about race factors into the IPSJ discussion.
• 18:17 - The "Blurred Lines" case.
• 24:30 -  Was copyright a highly democratic statement at U.S. founding?
• 30:56 - But patent was  a different story.
• 34:05 - Cotton gin and further patent discussion.
• 36:46 - How can IPSJ be made accessible to laymen?
• 43:30 - Anti IP and the corporatist message.
• 47:49 - On trademarking offensive terms.
• 58:35 - Are contemporary politics, policy, caselaw moving toward IPSJ?
• 01:04:58 - Anti IP and progressive views.
• 01:10:28 - Idea/Expression dichotomy discussion.