PUBLISHED:March 18, 2011

Rai to discuss the theory and practice of innovation policy during annual Frey Lecture in Intellectual Property

Arti Rai, the Elvin R. Latty Professor of Law at Duke University, will advocate a coherent innovation policy as being essential to achieving sustainable economic growth and addressing complex social problems when she delivers Duke Law School’s annual Meredith and Kip Frey Lecture in Intellectual Property on Thursday, March 24.

The lecture is open to the public and media. It will begin at 12:15 p.m. in room 3041 of Duke Law School, located at 210 Science Drive on Duke University’s West Campus. Parking is available at the Bryan Center.

A leading scholar of patent law and policy, the biopharmaceutical industry, innovation policy, administrative law, and health care regulation, Rai served as director of the Office of External Affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) in 2009 and 2010. The External Affairs office, serves as the chief PTO liaison to Congress, other executive-branch agencies, and international institutions on matters of intellectual property and innovation policy.

Rai will draw upon her recent executive branch experience as well as her scholarship to comment on the viability of achieving sustained and coordinated action across regulatory agencies on the matter of innovation policy. Focusing on examples such as commercialization of federally funded research and the patent/antitrust interface, she will argue that a strong White House presence is critical for achieving even a minimally coherent innovation policy framework.

The Meredith and Kip Frey Lecture in Intellectual Property was established by Duke Law alumnus Kip Frey '85 and his wife, Meredith, to increase discussion about emerging issues in the areas of intellectual property, cyberspace, and science and technology law.

The lecture will be webcast live at www.ustream.tv/DukeUniversity.