On December 15-17, the Center for Technology and Society (CTS) of DIREITO RIO welcomed the second Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest, which reflects on the public interest aspects of intellectual property rights. This year's meeting will be especially concerned with the challenges and opportunities currently observed in developing countries.

The first day of the event, on Saturday, was opened to the public and it was attended by some of the leading thinkers and activists in the field, such as Professor of DIREITO RIO, Ronaldo Lemos, Pedro Paranaguá, Glyn Moody, Peter Jaszi, Renata Reis, Paul Keller, Matthias Lamping and Carolina Botero.

The more than 20 speakers made presentations divided into three acts: The Present Moment will examine recent events such as the mobilizations against ACTA, SOPA and PIPA, the Arab Spring, the Marco Civil and debates on Ley Lleras in Colombia.
 

The second act, The Biggest Narrative, focused on the changes in the structure, composition of the access actions to knowledge and medicines during the last 20 years. Finally, the panelists will draw considerations about the future of the global movement towards more balanced regimes of intellectual property, reflecting on issues of access, innovation and creativity.
 

Days 16 and 17 were closed to registered participants.