Discussion (1L): Innovation and Inequality

Throughout history, innovation has been a leading driver of economic growth and has helped lift communities out of poverty, and the importance of knowledge goods to the global economy has only increased with the rise of computing and information technologies. Legal institutions incentivize innovation and allocate access to knowledge goods through a variety of mechanisms, including intellectual property, direct funding through grants and national laboratories, tax incentives, and innovation inducement prizes. In this discussion group, we will examine how these bodies of law are used both to reinforce and subvert existing power structures and inequalities, including issues related to gender, race, geography, and income. We will discuss inequalities among innovators as well as inequalities in access to new innovations, or in who those innovations are made for. We will also consider how these issues might be addressed through legal reforms either internal or external to innovation laws. This discussion seminar will meet four times during the Fall quarter. You will be notified of the meeting times by the instructor. Specific dates, time, and location will also be listed in "Notes" below. Elements used in grading: Attendance and class participation.