Call for Papers

Twelfth Annual ISHTIP Workshop

Landmarks of Intellectual Property

Bournemouth University, 13-17 July 2020

>> Call for papers (pdf)

>> Submission form

After hosting its annual workshop in 2019 in the location that is home to the largest natural harbour in the world, Sydney, the International Society for the History and Theory of Intellectual Property will host its 12th annual workshop from 13 to 17 July 2020 in the second largest natural harbour in the world: Poole, UK—home to Bournemouth University. This year’s theme, Landmarks of Intellectual Property, is inspired by its county Dorset, which is known for the Jurassic Coast, World Heritage Site on the English Channel southern coast of England, which stretches across 95 miles, and which features the natural limestone landmark Durdle Door.

Image by Roman Grac from Pixabay

The 2020 workshop will explore the contemporary relevance of the landmarks of intellectual property. Proposals are invited to consider the different ways in which a place, a time, a personality, a case, or a particular year has become a landmark of IP. These might include challenging or questioning (the idea of) landmarks of IP; proposing new ones; or highlighting unsung ones, be they milestones, vantage points, beacons, breakthroughs, events, turning points, or anniversaries. Contributions may also critique dominant frameworks or theories, thus putting into perspective the significance of such turning points by highlighting the role of historical contingencies, discontinuities and cultural difference.

Proposals that address this call from a historical or theoretical perspective are welcomed from scholars working across the disciplines. We also encourage proposals for ‘non-traditional’ outputs, such as a video essay, a documentary, a song, a poem, a painting, a piece of performing arts, etc. (on the condition that it can be fixed and submitted/uploaded). Proposers should be aware that authors (except for doctoral students, who will present in a separate dedicated session) do not present their own work at ISHTIP workshops. Rather, a discussant presents a brief summary and critique of the contribution to facilitate a more general discussion. To accommodate this, final contributions must be submitted ahead of the workshop.

The doctoral-student panel will be dedicated to the work of Prof Martha Woodmansee who founded ISHTIP in 2008, and who will be retiring. She has published widely at the intersection of aesthetics, cultural history, and copyright law; we therefore particularly encourage proposals that pursue this intersection further.

Proposals for contributions (please see the submission form for details) should be sent by email to Claudy Op den Kamp at copdenkamp@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Date for submission of proposals: Friday 17 January 2020
Expected date for notification of acceptance: Friday 7 February 2020
Date for submission of final contributions: Monday 1 June 2020

Provisional Workshop Programme

  • Monday 13 July 2020: Pre-event ‘Turning Your Film Into Mine’, a one-day event on filmmaking and copyright exceptions (please see separate CFP)
  • Tuesday 14 – Thursday 16 July 2020: ISHTIP workshop, including the doctoral-student panel dedicated to the work of retiring professor Martha Woodmansee
  • Friday 17 July 2020: ‘Landmarks of Dorset’; day-trip to the Jurassic Coast

The workshop is hosted by CIPPM / Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence for European Intellectual Property and Information Rights, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission.

No conference fees will be charged.

Organising Committee: Maurizio Borghi, Claudy Op den Kamp, Ruth Towse