The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law

Please join us for a unique event at Duke on the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, a historic law that directs $52 billion in government spending to spur computer chip manufacturing and R&D in the United States. The event will feature experts from across the country and from all over Duke, including the Deans of Fuqua, Sanford, and Pratt along with Professor Ronnie Chatterji, who led implementation of the CHIPS Act in the Biden Administration before returning to Duke this fall. Space is limited and registration is required. Register for the conference here: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5ASZsBdEGyQzpDo Sponsored by The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law and Duke Fuqua School of Business. For more information, please contact Leanna Doty at leanna.doty@law.duke.edu.

As U.S. universities continue to internationalize their campuses, they benefit greatly from increased connectivity with their counterpart institutions abroad. Cross border research collaborations have increased as have student and scholar exchanges. At the same time, as American universities become more globally engaged, they have encountered a broad array of new challenges at home stemming from growing national security concerns as well as concerns about protecting the integrity of the U.S. R&D system. Our panelists, Lora Weiss, Penn State Univ., and Kelvin Droegemeier, Univ. of Oklahoma, have found themselves knee-deep in dealing with the various compliance issues and new regulations that have emerged as well as the impact of these issues on the innovation process itself. Our moderator, Denis Simon, The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law, will guide a discussion regarding how the performance of university research is being affected in both positive and negative ways. Sponsored by The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law; the Sanford Cyber Policy Program; the Duke Office of Research & Innovation; and, DQ, the Certificate in Digital Intelligence at Duke Science & Society. Registration required: https://bit.ly/3FJLnMI. For more information, please contact Balfour Smith (bsmith@law.duke.edu).

Join The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law, the Duke Sanford Cyber Policy Program, and DQ-Certificate in Digital Intelligence Program of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society for a program focusing on the importance of semiconductors in the global economy with Jimmy Goodrich, Vice President for Global Policy, Semiconductor Industry Association. This program is part of a series of events focusing on the policy issues surrounding semiconductor manufacturing and supply chain. Lunch will be provided. Contact Bonnie Blundell (bonnie.blundell@law.duke.edu).

Join the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, Ms. Kathi Vidal, the heads of the European Patent Office and the Japan Patent Office, and WIPO Deputy Director General, Ms. Lisa Jorgenson, in a dialogue with innovators and entrepreneurs from the Research Triangle Park area. The discussion will center around the theme of the 40th Trilateral Conference, i.e., enhancing the accessibility of the patent system for small- and medium-sized enterprises. You can attend in person (limited space), join the livestream, or view the recording after the event; however, registration (by Nov. 7) is required: https://bit.ly/3SBHKvi. Sponsored by The Center for Innovation Policy, the USPTO, and the Trilateral Cooperation. For more information, please contact Balfour Smith at bsmith@law.duke.edu.

Join The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law, the Duke Sanford Cyber Policy Program, and DQ, the Certificate in Digital Intelligence program of the Duke Initiative for Science and Society, for a talk with Riccardo Masucci, Intel Corporation, focusing on these important developments. This program is part of a series of events focusing on the policy issues surrounding semiconductor manufacturing and supply chain. Lunch will be provided. For more information please contact Balfour Smith (bsmith@law.duke.edu).

In light of recent developments, The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law and the Sanford Cyber Policy Program are hosting a webinar featuring Peter Cleveland (TSMC) and Paul Triolo (Albright Stonebridge Group) discussing the evolving structure and operation of the supply chain for the semiconductor industry. Additional information can be found here: https://law.duke.edu/innovationpolicy/supplychain/. Please register at https://bit.ly/3Q5gynb to join webinar. This program is part of a series of events on the policy issues surrounding semiconductor manufacturing and supply chain. Information on upcoming events in the series will be featured on our homepage. Sponsored by The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law. For questions, please contact Balfour Smith at bsmith@law.duke.edu.

The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law is hosting a two-day conference to discuss the role of university research in the U.S. innovation ecosystem. The conference aims to outline a new framework for America's universities in the context of the country's long-term competitive future. The conference will address key questions within this framework through panel discussions with key leaders in academia, government, and industry, including five university presidents: MICHAEL CROW, President, ASU, REBECCA BLANK, Chancellor, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, SHIRLEY ANN JACKSON, President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, FARNAM JAHANIAN, President, Carnegie Mellon University, and VINCENT PRICE, President, Duke University. Co-sponsored by Duke Law's Center on Law, Ethics and National Security, Duke Research and Innovation, and the Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative. Please join us for this multi-day virtual event, concluding on March 4, 2022 with our final two panels and brief wrap-up of the proceedings. More information at https://bit.ly/3K6uuM7; register for the event (required) at https://bit.ly/EvolvingInnovation. Questions, contact Balfour Smith at bsmith@law.duke.edu or innovationpolicy@law.duke.edu.

2021-2022 China Innovation Series

SPEAKERS:

Tai Ming Cheung Professor, School of Global Policy and Strategy, & Director, Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, U.C. San Diego Dr. Denis Simon, Moderator Senior Adviser to the President for China Affairs, Duke University

CO-SPONSORS:

The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law Duke University Asian/Pacific Studies Institute Duke University Center for International & Global Studies

The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law's seminar series, "Conversations on Innovation: New Thinking and New Approaches," seeks to shed light on innovation policy issues that are on the horizon. In both Congress and the Biden Administration, key policymakers are arguing that recent merger and acquisition trends call for renewed vigor in antitrust enforcement. For some, the technology and biopharmaceutical sectors are particularly promising antitrust targets. In this Conversation with Duke's Arti Rai, Professors Fiona Scott Morton, Yale, and Carl Shapiro, U.C. Berkeley - two prominent antitrust scholars with deep government experience - discuss the implications of these antitrust arguments for innovation and competition policy. Co-sponsored by Fuqua's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. More information at https://bit.ly/3dsFG6g. The program is free and open to all, however registration is required: https://bit.ly/2Yv4Pco. For additional assistance, please contact Balfour Smith at bsmith@law.duke.edu.

Conversations on Innovation: New Thinking and New Approaches How Sustainable Is the Chinese Innovation Juggernaut? with Craig Allen, Paul Triolo, Matt Turpin, and Denis Simon

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law's seminar series "Conversations on Innovation: New Thinking and New Approaches" seeks to shed light on innovation policy issues that are on the horizon. The November 3 program featured Craig Allen, US-China Business Council, Paul Triolo, Eurasia Group, and Matt Turpin, Hoover Institute, in conversation with Dr. Denis Simon, Executive Director of the Center. After the discussion, there was ample time for questions from the audience.

In a relatively short period of time, China has gone from being perceived as an innovation laggard to being viewed as an "innovation juggernaut." Has China's "long march" to become a global technological leader been successful? What are the realistic prospects for China's innovation system, especially in light of Western constraints on cross-border research collaboration and the flow of advanced know-how into China in fields like semiconductors and artificial intelligence? This panel of seasoned experts will provide insights into the key variables that will shape China's emerging technological trajectory: Paul Triolo, Eurasia Group; Craig Allen, US-China Business Council; and Matt Turpin, Hoover Institution; moderated by Denis Simon, Executive Director of the Center. Sponsored by The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law; co-sponsored by the Duke University Center for International & Global Studies and the Duke University Asian/Pacific Studies Institute. Registration required: https://bit.ly/3iyzAV2. More information: https://bit.ly/3dsFG6g. Or contact Balfour Smith: bsmith@law.duke.edu.

The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law's seminar series, "Conversations on Innovation: New Thinking and New Approaches," seeks to shed light on innovation policy issues that are on the horizon. Today's program with Michael Brown, U.S. Department of Defense, focuses on better understanding how technological advances are not only being embraced by the defense sector, but how the frontiers of innovation are being expanded by evolving defense sector needs and requirements. Moderated by Denis Simon, Executive Director of the Center. The program is co-sponsored by the Duke University Center for International and Global Studies. For additional information, please contact Balfour Smith at: bsmith@law.duke.edu. Registration required: https://bit.ly/3nm0rHd.

The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law's next "Conversations on Innovation: New Thinking and New Approaches" will examine the ramifications of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (approved by the Senate and pending in the House) and the larger innovation and competition issues surrounding it. How will we know if the Act is achieving its goals? What else will need to be done to ensure the future competitiveness of the American economy. The program features Dr. Ronnie Chatterji, Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Kei Koizumi, Chief of Staff at the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President, in conversation with Prof. Stuart Benjamin, Faculty Co-Director of the Center. Sponsored by The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law. Co-sponsored by Duke Science & Society and Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship. For information see https://bit.ly/3dsFG6g or contact Balfour Smith at: bsmith@law.duke.edu. Registration required: https://bit.ly/3iE9JeN.

The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law presents Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, former Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) from 2017-2021, in the next installment of its 2021 seminar series, "Conversations on Innovation: New Thinking and New Approaches." During his tenure at OSTP, Dr. Droegemeier managed and coordinated several key strategic national initiatives aimed at ensuring American leadership in fields such as AI, quantum information, and S&T workforce development. Moderated by Dr. Denis Simon, Executive Director of the Center, the program will focus on the U.S.A.'s evolving competitive position in science and technology, including ways the country can remain a leader in fields that will shape the economy and society in the future. Sponsored by The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law. For additional information, please contact Balfour Smith at bsmith@law.duke.edu. Registration required: https://bit.ly/3w2TxIf.

The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law's Spring 2021 seminar series, "Conversations on Innovation: New Thinking and New Approaches," seeks to shed light on innovation policy issues that are on the horizon. We will host a broad range of speakers with deep experience working within the innovation ecosystem in the U.S.A. and abroad. To kick off the series, we are thrilled to have two knowledgeable experts sit down with Duke Law School Professor Arti Rai to exchange ideas about the evolving strengths and weaknesses of the American R&D system: Robert Atkinson, President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), and James Lewis, Director of the Technology Program at The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. Sponsored by The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law. More information at https://bit.ly/3dsFG6g. Those interested in joining the session must register at https://bit.ly/3maXAON. For additional information, please contact Balfour Smith at: bsmith@law.duke.edu.

The Impressive rise in China’s capabilities in science, technology and innovation (STI) raises important questions for the United States and other countries. Chinese progress is rightly seen as providing it with material and intellectual resources to challenge US economic and national security interests. But, after more than four decades of close US-China cooperation in science and technology, it also presents the US with a mixed set of opportunities as well as challenges. This talk will attempt to inventory the state of US-China S&T relations and suggest a menu of initiatives for the US to adopt in order to secure its strengths as an STI power.

Join us for a panel discussion on Industrial Policy and how COVID-19 has impacted debates on this topic. Scott Lincicome, Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute and Visiting Lecturer at Duke Law, argues government interference has only hurt manufacturing. Oren Cass, former domestic policy director for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign and the founder and executive director of the think tank American Compass, believes that the U.S. government should intervene more aggressively in the manufacturing industry. Caleb Watney, Director of Innovation Policy for the Progressive Policy Institute and former technology policy fellow at the R Street Institute, will similarly discuss how government intervention often harms industry, as well as how the pandemic is harming America's long-standing innovation institutions, and what we can do to reverse this damage. Sponsored by the Duke Law Federalist Society. Co-sponsored by the Duke Initiative for Science and Society, the Duke Program in American Values and Institutions, the Duke Political Science Department, the Duke Philosophy, Politics, & Economics Program, and the Duke Law Center for Innovation Policy. For more information, please contact Meredith Criner at meredith.criner@duke.edu. Login with this Webinar ID: 923 8860 9392, or this link: https://zoom.us/j/92388609392.

Join the Duke Law & Tech Society for a Happy Hour Conversation with Professor Stuart M. Benjamin, focusing on the First Amendment and constraints on regulation of platforms, social media, and search engines. Professor Benjamin is the co-director of the Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law School and has written on a variety of topics concerning the intersection of First Amendment Law and technology. Students will have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss any interests they have with Professor Benjamin and other participants. No prior knowledge or experience is required. This event is limited to 10 students. Please register here: https://forms.gle/eU9ddMwxgHkM8JDV8. Sponsored by the Duke Law & Tech Society. For more information, please contact Kristin Oakley at kristin.oakley@duke.edu.

The Supreme Court will hear argument in United States v. Arthrex, Inc. on March 1, 2021. The issue before the Court is the application of the Appointments Clause to judges of the Patent Trial and Appeals Board, a tribunal established by Congress in 2012 within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The decision below by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that administrative patent judges were principal officers under the Constitution. The Arthrex case focuses on the proper construction of the Appointments Clause and, more broadly, the proper role of administrative adjudication. Distinguished commentators on this program include a Federal Circuit judge and renowned academics whose scholarship has focused on the key patent, administrative, and constitutional issues. Please register here: http://bit.ly/3sk2dsq. Sponsored by The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law and the Duke Law Program in Public Law. Contact: Balfour Smith (bsmith@law.duke.edu) or Kelli Raker (kelli.raker@law.duke.edu). More at http://bit.ly/2XFtYxB.

Speaking to the Duke, UNC, and Triangle community, Andrei Iancu, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property & Director of United States Patent and Trademark Office will discuss the new National Council for Expanding American Innovation (NCEAI) initiative launched in September 2020. The goal of this inititative is to build a more supportive and inclusive innovation ecosystem, highlighting the need for additional support for URM & women entrepreneurs. Hosted by Bryant Moore, Director of Strategic Partnerships, UNC Office of Technology Commercialization and followed by questions moderated by Arti Rai, Elvin R. Latty Professor of Law and Faculty Director, The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law. Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-future-of-american-innovation-the-role… Sponsored by Duke University's Office Of Licensing And Ventures. For more information, please contact Celeste Ferguson at celeste.ferguson@duke.edu.

Saurabh Vishnubhakat, Research Fellow for the Center, moderated a “New Voices in Intellectual Property Scholarship” panel at the AALS 2021 Annual Meeting. The panel provided junior intellectual property scholars an opportunity to receive useful feedback on their work from more senior reviewers before submitting their work for publication. 

Lidiya Mishchenko, Research Fellow for the Center, presented her recent work entitled “Thank You for Not Publishing.” The project addresses the heretofore unrecognized cost of publishing unexamined patent applications. The amorphous scope of patent applications injects new levels of uncertainty into patent examination and freedom to operate searching for market participants. The paper considers ways to optimize how and when patent applications are published for improved notice.

Join Duke Science & Society and our honored guests, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Alan Alda, in a discussion of how to restore the faith of the American people in science and the scientific agencies-what we must do now, and in the months ahead, to rebuild their trust in these essential actors and institutions.Co-Sponsored by the Duke Global Health Institute, the Duke Law Center for Innovation Policy, the Georgetown Law O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health, the Harvard Petrie-Flom Center for Bioethics, the Stanford Law Center for Law and the Biosciences, and the Yale School of Public Health. For more information and to register, please follow this link:https://scienceandsociety.duke.edu/events/coronavirus-conversations-res…

The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law co-hosted this event with Duke Science & Society, the Duke Global Health Institute, the Georgetown Law O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health, the Harvard Petrie-Flom Center for Bioethics, the Stanford Law Center for aw and the Biosciences, the UNC HIV Cure Center, and the Yale School of Public Health.

Ten months into the pandemic, we are making rapid progress toward developing a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, with several vaccines in Phase 3 trials in the US alone. Despite this remarkable speed, concerned citizens and members of the medical and public health communities naturally have questions: What does it mean about overall safety and effectiveness that some projects have been paused to ensure the safety and health of vaccine trial participants? Who has been included in the trial process, and how representative are they of our society? When the first vaccines are found to be safe and effective, how effective can we expect them to be, based on current indications? Join the speakers, who are overseeing COVID-19 vaccine trials for Moderna and Pfizer, in a discussion of how the COVID-19 vaccine trials are progressing in the U.S., what current indications are about their safety and efficacy, and when we can expect initial approvals for early or limited use.

Please join Professor Stuart M. Benjamin, Faculty Co-Director of The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law, for this important seminar on "Future-Proofing Spectrum Regulation?". Prof. Benjamin is part of a team awarded a grant to study spectrum policy for the National Science Foundation's Spectrum Innovation Initiative: National Center for Wireless Spectrum Research. This seminar, supporting the grant, features Philip Marnick, Group Director, Spectrum, Ofcom, and Dean Brenner, Senior Vice President, Spectrum Strategy & Tech Policy, Qualcomm; moderated by Prof. Benjamin. The panel will discuss questions such as: In which situations is exclusive use preferable to shared use and vice-versa? Which policies might optimally encourage innovation and shared spectrum use? How spectrum policies might allow for successful adaptation to unforeseen future developments? For more information, please contact Balfour Smith at bsmith@law.duke.edu. To join the seminar, visit: https://bit.ly/35iBmCm.

Join Duke Science & Society and our esteemed panel of experts, including former FDA Commissioner, Rob Califf, and Founder and Director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, Eric Topol, for a timely discussion of the suitability of the EUA process for a COVID vaccine, and the safety and efficacy that we can expect from vaccines authorized on an accelerated timeframe. Moderated by Duke Law professor Arti K Rai, J.D.; Elvin R. Latty Professor of Law and Faculty Director, The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law. Sponsored by The Duke Initiative for Science & Society and Co-Hosted with the Duke University School of Law and The Petrie-Flom Center For Bioethics at Harvard University. RSVP at https://scienceandsociety.duke.edu/events/coronavirus-conversations-eme… For more information, please contact Timothy McDermott at timothy.mcdermott@duke.edu.

The COVID-19 crisis has spurred tremendous public and private innovation efforts, particularly in the area of vaccines. Although the social benefits of one or more safe and effective vaccines are undeniable, analysts are concerned that a vaccine authorized by the FDA through emergency use authorization (EUA) may not be both safe and effective. Additionally, in the area of vaccines, public trust plays a large role in determining ultimate social benefit. So the effect of EUA on public trust in COVID-19 vaccine innovation, and in the FDA more generally, merit close attention.

The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law (CIP), together with Duke Science & Society and other co-sponsors, hosted a discussion of the suitability of the EUA process for COVID vaccine innovation

Will there come a day when we use Uber to deliver or rent nearly everything we use? And how do regulations impact the increasing scope of sharing services in our economy? This event features two experts on the sharing economy discussing how sharing services will expand and how the regulatory state will impact that expansion. Michael Munger, an Economics Professor at Duke and the author of Tomorrow 3.0: Transaction Costs and the Sharing Economy, will provide the economic context for the emergence of sharing services like Uber and Airbnb. Jon Riches, the Director of Litigation at the Goldwater Institute, will discuss how the regulatory state impacts the growth of sharing services. Duke Law Professor Matthew Adler will moderate discussion and Q&A. Sponsored by the Duke Law Federalist Society. Co-sponsored by the American Constitution Society, the Duke Political Science Department, the Duke Program in Law and Entrepreneurship, the Duke Law Center for Innovation Policy, the Duke Law and Economics Society, the Duke Center for Science & Technology Policy, the Duke Initiative on Science & Society, and the Duke Fuqua Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. For more information, please contact Brendan Clemente at brendan.clemente@duke.edu. Log in using Webinar ID: 965 7859 3905, or this link: https://zoom.us/j/96578593905

Faculty Co-Director, Professor Arti Rai, was a panelist at the second program of the Administrative Conference of the United States’s Symposium on Artificial Intelligence in Federal Agencies, addressing “Artificial Intelligence and Administrative Law Doctrines: Challenges and Opportunities”. Other panel members included Cary Coglianese, University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Deirdre Mulligan, University of California Berkeley School of Information; the program is moderated by David Vladeck, Georgetown University Law Center. 

Join this interdisciplinary panel of Duke experts for a conversation about 3D printed guns and the legal, technological, and policy considerations, moderated by Professor Joseph Blocher. Panel includes Professor Ken Gall, Associate Dean for Entrepreneurship in the Pratt School of Engineering, Professor Jeff Ward, Associate Dean for Technology & Innovation, and Professor Stuart Benjamin, Douglas B. Maggs Professor of Law and co-director of the Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law School. Lunch provided. This event is co-sponsored by the Duke Center for Firearms Law, Duke Center on Law & Technology, and Law & Tech Society. For more information, please contact Allison Rackley at allison.rackley@law.duke.edu.

This will be a 1-day small workshop (organized by Michael Frakes - Duke University and Melissa Wasserman - University of Texas) with 6 presenters of empirical working papers about patent law and policy, with each presentation having an assigned discussant. Sponsored by Duke Law's Center for Innovation Policy. For further information, please contact Bonnie Millis at bonnie.millis@law.duke.edu.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being employed in the private sector to optimize production processes, pricing, and other business functions. But apart from national security and law enforcement, productive uses in the public sector have received less attention, despite recognition that the administrative state's foremost challenges include efficient processing of ever-increasing amounts of data, and adapting to new information over time. The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law, the Center on Law & Technology, Duke Science & Society, and the Rethinking Regulation Program at the Kenan Institute of Ethics are holding a joint conference to explore promising uses of AI and the challenges they pose in administering diverse governmental functions involving science, technology, health and intellectual property. For more information and to register visit http://bit.ly/2D7RiHB or contact Balfour Smith or Carol Abken at innovationpolicy@law.duke.edu.

The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law and the Federal Circuit Bar Association present a one-day program focusing on important patent issues affecting the protection of cutting-edge technology. The program will provide 7 hours of CLE credit. Sessions: "Women in IP Breakfast"; "The Impact of Recent Section 101 Patent Eligibility Cases on U.S. Innovation"; "Hot Topics in PTAB Proceedings"; "Moderated Discussion with The Honorable Todd M. Hughes, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit"; "Supreme Court Review of Federal Circuit Decisions"; "A View from the Bench" (judges discuss effective advocacy and brief writing); and, "Diversity in Courts, Agencies, Corporations and Law Firms." More information and to register: http://bit.ly/2oN4kGg. Law School contacts: Balfour Smith or Carol Abken at innovationpolicy@law.duke.edu.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in Oil States Energy Services v. Greene's Energy Group, a case in which the petitioner argues that the most prominent U.S. Patent and Trademark Office process for analyzing the validity of granted patents "violates the Constitution by extinguishing private property rights through a non-Article III forum without a jury." This half-day conference will gather distinguished practitioners and legal scholars from a variety of perspectives to discuss potential implications of the case for patent law, for the administrative state, and for affected industries. The event is held at Duke in DC, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20004 and is free and open to the public; however, you must register to attend: http://bit.ly/2utYFX2. Sponsored by The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law, and funded through support from Google and InterDigital. More information, including the speakers, at: http://bit.ly/2tUHADT or contact Balfour Smith and Carol Abken at innovationpolicy@law.duke.edu.

The FCC is concluding the most complex auction in history, the culmination of a decade-long planning process for moving spectrum from broadcast to mobile broadband uses. The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law will hold a half-day conference that will identify lessons from this auction for spectrum policy, government disposition of assets (whether of spectrum or other resources), and the future of innovation policy generally. Speakers include: David Quinalty, Senate Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee; Lawrence Ausubel, Power Auctions and Univ. of Maryland; Jonathan Chaplin, New Street Research; Paul de Sa, Quadra Partners; Gary Epstein, former Chair of Incentive Auction Task Force, FCC; Karla Hoffman, George Mason Univ.; Allan Ingraham, Economists Inc.; Edward Lazarus, Tribune Media; Michael Ostrovsky, Stanford Graduate School of Business; Preston Padden, Boulder Thinking; Charla Rath, Verizon; Dorothy Robyn, former Commissioner at GSA; Gregory Rosston, Stanford Univ.; David Salant, Auction Technologies; Steve Sharkey, T-Mobile; and Ilya Segal, Stanford Univ. More information at: http://bit.ly/2nfSwgE. Register for the event at: http://bit.ly/2oRJT8o. The event will take place at Duke in DC, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC, 20004. For further information contact Carol Abken at carol.abken@law.duke.edu.

Government data and research point to a long decline in US corporate investment in upstream research. How pervasive is this trend across industries, technologies, and firms of different sizes? How does it compare with research spending by the federal government, universities, and companies abroad? Does it reflect less reliance on research, whoever performs it? Is it explained by capital market pressures, global competition, or other factors? Has it contributed to the slowdown in productivity growth? Are there other reasons policymakers should be concerned? If so, what policy levers should they look to-e.g., intellectual property, tax, government R&D spending, or antitrust enforcement? Duke in DC Conference Center, 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20004. Sponsored by The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law. Join the live webcast at: http://bit.ly/2oClxQ2. More information and agenda at: http://bit.ly/2lywCjh. For more information, please contact Balfour Smith at bsmith@law.duke.edu.

This is the second of two conferences on patent quality. The conferences are designed to examine the PTO's ongoing efforts on patent quality, to assess the progress of these efforts, and to explore next steps in the PTO's continuing efforts to ensure the highest quality for U.S. patents. Co-sponsored by the Duke Law Center for Innovation Policy and Santa Clara Law's High Tech Law Institute with the participation of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). Deadline for proposals: June 15, 2016. For more information, contact Professor Arti Rai at rai@law.duke.edu or visit https://t.co/UqGC9DLZhn.

Please join us in welcoming Prof. Arti Rai and Dr. Steve Merrill to the Bay Area by attending our Meet & Greet event hosted at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's Palo Alto office. Prof. Rai and Dr. Merrill are visiting on behalf of the Duke Law Center for Innovation Policy to attend the Patent Quality Conference jointly hosted by the Duke Law Center for Innovation Policy and the Santa Clara High Tech Law Institute. Presented by the Duke Law Club of Northern California. Learn more and RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-greet-for-prof-arti-rai-dr-steve-merr…. For more information, please contact Anna Walker at walker@law.duke.edu.

This is the first of two conferences on patent quality. The conferences are designed to examine the PTO's ongoing efforts on patent quality, to assess the progress of these efforts, and to explore next steps in the PTO's continuing efforts to ensure the highest quality for U.S. patents. For more information on this conference, contact Professor Colleen Chien at cchien@scu.edu or visit https://t.co/UqGC9DLZhn. Co-sponsored by the Duke Law Center for Innovation Policy and Santa Clara Law's High Tech Law Institute with the participation of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). Deadline for proposals: June 15, 2016.

The Entrepreneurship Education: Developing a Community of Practice conference will include panels of EE program leaders, graduates, venture investors and entrepreneurs, and breakout sessions on pedagogical issues, support systems (incubators, accelerators, finance, and IP rights), collaborations across academic units, and opportunities to develop a more robust evidence base for EE curricula. The program is being organized and sponsored by the Duke Law School Center for Innovation Policy, the Duke-wide Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative, and the Fuqua School of Business Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation with support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the National Science Foundation's Science of Science and Innovation Policy (SciSIP) program. For more information, contact Stephen Merrill (stephen.merrill@law.duke.edu) or visit https://goo.gl/5LmP06.

Duke Law School's Center for Innovation Policy is hosting a conference in Washington, D.C. at the offices of Venable LLP, looking at how the delivery of video programming is changing and the challenges this poses to content providers, service providers, regulators, and consumers. The conference brings together experts from the executive branch, Congress, and industry to address issues that are at the heart of innovation and policy. More information at https://goo.gl/2cGsPx. Sponsored by the Center for Innovation Policy. For more information, please contact Stephanie Lowd at stephanie.lowd@law.duke.edu.

The Laws that Learn seminar series presents Professor J.B. Ruhl (David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair of Law at Vanderbilt Law School) to discuss the evolving goals of conservation and the implications for law and policy in his talk, "Buzzwords or Breakthroughs? ¿ Assessing the New Framing of Conservation." Lunch provided with RSVP to Amber Díaz Pearson by Thursday, March 19. Co-sponsored by the Rethinking Regulation Program at the Kenan Institute for Ethics, the Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law School, and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke. For more information, please contact Jonas Monast at jonas.monast@duke.edu.

Professor Ken Oye (MIT) and Professor Arti Rai (Duke) will discuss the challenges and opportunities in shifting the way the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and its counterparts around the world, regulate pharmaceutical products. Can and should we move from a one-time decision to approve a drug in general, to a sequential process of partial approvals with continued monitoring and learning over time? How can our regulatory systems incorporate continued learning, as new technologies and their impacts emerge? This event is one in the series of "Laws that Learn" speakers. Co-sponsored by the Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law, the Rethinking Regulation program at the Kenan Institute for Ethics, and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke. Lunch will be provided. If you plan to attend, please R.S.V.P. to Amber Diaz Pearson at amber.diaz@duke.edu. For additional information, please contact Professor Jonathan Wiener at 919-613-7054.

Recent debates about Internet regulation in the U.S. have focused on the FCC's 2010 Open Internet order and its May 2014 NPRM, but longer-term questions about the regulation of broadband networks loom. What can and should the Internet be in 2020? What is the appropriate regulatory approach to take in the next few years, and how should it be implemented? What will all this mean for innovators, policymakers, and users? Join Duke Law School's Center for Innovation Policy on Friday, October 17, at the Keck Center in Washington, D.C., for this symposium, bringing together a small group of leading authorities for a discussion of these questions. Vint Cerf and Tim Berners-Lee will begin the program, which will also include Paul de Sa, Sharon Gillett, Bill Lehr, Ruth Milkman, Jon Nuechterlein, Jon Sallet, Henning Schulzrinne, Howard Shelanski, Jim Speta, and Daniel Weitzner. More information and to register: http://law.duke.edu/innovationpolicy/internetregulation/.

The Duke Law Center for Innovation Policy brings together leading figures from the private sector, government, and academia to consider incentive systems for biopharmaceutical development at its inaugural conference. Hosted by Professors Stuart Benjamin and Arti Rai, the center co-directors, the daylong conference will be held on Nov. 22, 2013, at the National Academy of Sciences Building, Room NAS120, Washington, D.C. It is free and open to the public but registration is required due to space limitations. To register, visit http://law.duke.edu/innovationpolicy/newapproaches/. For more information, please contact Julie Moushon at InnovationPolicy@law.duke.edu.