Shubha Ghosh, Crandall Melvin Professor of Law, was invited to present at the 44th Annual Congress of the International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property in Brazil. The theme of the Congress was Intellectual Property and Politics: From Power Relations to Realpolitik.
Ghosh, Director of the Syracuse Intellectual Property Law Institute, spoke on Democracy, Exclusivity, and Competition.
In his presentation, Ghosh examined IP through the interconnected lenses of law, politics, and policy, arguing that these three dimensions continuously shape and reshape one another. He contended that IP should not be viewed as an autonomous legal regime, but as an institution whose evolution reflects political choices, public policy objectives, and constitutional values. Drawing on examples from patent, copyright, competition, and pharmaceutical law, Ghosh illustrated how legislatures, courts, administrative agencies, and private actors collectively influence the development of IP rules. Ghosh argued that understanding this dynamic relationship among law, politics, and policy is essential to addressing the challenges posed by AI, market concentration, and technological innovation while preserving democratic governance and the public interest.
