Prof. Carys Craig is the Director of IP Osgoode, Editor-in-Chief of the Osgoode Hall Law Journal, Academic Director of the Osgoode Professional LL.M Program in Intellectual Property, and an Associate Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School.
I am delighted to be writing my first IPilogue post as incoming Director of IP Osgoode! I would like to begin by thanking the whole IP Osgoode team, community, and partners for their warm welcome.
It is both exciting and daunting to step into the shoes of IP Osgoode鈥檚 Founder and outgoing Director, my colleague and friend Prof. Pina D鈥橝gostino, whose creative energy and vision have been the driving force behind IP Osgoode since 2008. Under her leadership, IP Osgoode has become a key voice on intellectual property law and technology issues, forging fruitful relationships with academics, legal professionals, policymakers, and industry actors, while offering wonderfully rich learning opportunities to our students and graduate researchers.
With Prof. D鈥橝gostino now at the helm of 91亚色鈥檚 newly launched Centre for AI and Society (CAIS), we are looking forward to collaborating on interdisciplinary initiatives at the intersection of AI and IP in our new respective roles!
While I am indeed new to the Director role at IP Osgoode, I was a founding member at its inception and have participated in many of its events and initiatives over the years. I have been teaching and researching in intellectual property law at Osgoode since joining the faculty in 2002 and have served as Academic Director of Osgoode鈥檚 Professional LLM in IP law since 2009. In other words, I am very well acquainted with all things Osgoode and IP!
Looking ahead, I am keen to bring my experience and passions to this new position. I take special delight in guiding our excellent students to grow as researchers, editors, and emerging thought-leaders鈥攁 role I have relished as Editor-in-Chief of the and will now embrace as Editor-in-Chief of the . I am a big believer in the creative potential of collaboration and the discursive exchange of ideas, and so I look forward to hosting the IP Osgoode Speaks Series, workshops, and conferences on pressing issues in IP and technology policy. As a former Associate Dean of Research & Institutional Relations, I am committed to strengthening our institution鈥檚 research focus and scholarly networks, and so I am keen to foster IP Osgoode鈥檚 existing connections and to forge new ones. And as a proponent of consultative, evidence-based policymaking, I am excited to continue supervising Osgoode student teams for the Federal Government鈥檚 Copyright Policy Moot, as well as helping to craft and coordinate joint statements from Canadian IP Scholars. Above all, though, I am passionate about nurturing new viewpoints and diverse voices in these critical conversations. This is an aspiration that has been, and will remain, central to IP Osgoode鈥檚 mission.
Over these past twenty years, IP and technology law has emerged as a hugely important area of law which requires an ever-growing need for expertise and thoughtful advice. In today鈥檚 dynamic digital environment, new challenges arise every day, throwing established systems and rules into flux. With a plethora of policy issues to be tackled鈥攆rom generative AI to intermediary liability, copyright term extension to unused trademark registrations, and controversial new bills in Canada on online news and broadcasting鈥攖he field shows no sign of slowing down. 聽
At Osgoode, our IP offerings have grown over time to meet this challenge. When I was hired, I was the lone faculty member in the field, stepping into the shoes of my venerable colleague Professor . Prof. Vaver has since returned to the Osgoode fold, of course鈥攁n IP & Technology Law faculty that now boasts Professors , , , , and our most recent technology law recruit, Canada Research Chair in Innovation Law & Society, . With these inspiring colleagues, our dedicated , our fearless Assistant Director , and an incredible network of , supporters, and collaborators, I鈥檓 excited to see what鈥檚 in store for the IP Osgoode team鈥攁nd thrilled play this part in making it happen!