Call for Papers

• IP & gene editing

• IP & quantum science

• IP & AI

• Business models and IP strategies for new technologies

• IP & climate change mitigation

• IP & access to medicines and health care

• IP, dual use & war

• IP law in crisis

• The role of IP offices in IP and innovation ecosystems

• IP dispute resolution, specialised courts, and ADR

• Rethinking copyright collection societies

• IP & collaborative models and standardisation

• IP & Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• IP & green innovation and the circular economy

• IP & access and benefit sharing

• IP & technology transfer

• IP, intersectionality, & vulnerability

• IP and non-discrimination

• IP, innovation, & gender gaps

• IP & human rights

• IP as an incentive or disincentive for innovation

• IP & open innovation

• IP & access to culture and science

• Strategic IP management

• IP & decolonisation

• IP, power asymmetries, & platforms

• IP, traditional knowledge, & indigenous communities

• IP for SMEs

• Digital archiving

• Crafts, know-how, and innovation

• IP, artists, & crafters

• IP, innovation, architecture, and resilient cultural heritage

Call abstract

The economic literature highlights persistent diversity gaps in innovation, particularly in patenting and IP protection. Women, ethnic minorities, and individuals from low-income backgrounds remain significantly underrepresented in these fields. As a result, the innovation ecosystem fails to fully harness diverse perspectives, experiences, and ideas - limiting creative potential and underutilising human resources for innovation. These disparities carry profound policy implications, affecting the innovation ecosystems’ ability to foster inclusive economic growth and tackle global challenges effectively.

As in previous editions, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will sponsor a special session on “Gender and Diversity in IP and Innovation”.

This session aims to bring together new empirical research shedding light on gender and other diversity imbalances throughout the stages of the inventors and creators’ careers.

This call invites submissions that relate to topics such as:

· Gender balance and diversity in the IP system

· Barriers to IP and innovation participation for women and other underrepresented groups

· Measuring the IP gender and diversity gap

· Gender and diversity policies impact evaluation

· Gender and diversity gap in entrepreneurship and innovation

· Impact of institutional environments to the scientific/technological gender gap

· Impact of corporate and societal cultures in gender gap

Organisers: Carlotta Nani, Julio Raffo, and Carsten Fink, WIPO Department of Economics and Data Analytics (DEDA)

Call abstract

The intersection of IP and access to health technologies—such as medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, personal protective equipment, digital health technologies, and medical devices and equipment—has long been a subject of academic and policy debate. While some argue that IP has been instrumental in fostering innovation and, ultimately, improving access to health technologies, others contend that its current implementation often obstructs public health objectives, demanding significant reforms, including the strategic use of TRIPS flexibilities. Finally, a growing body of scholarship further questions whether the IP system has failed to deliver on its promises or was never intended to serve as a driver of equitable innovation, leading some to advocate for its abolition and the exploration of alternative models.

Though this debate is not new, it has evolved dynamically in response to profound geopolitical shifts, rapid technological advancements, and public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. These developments have intensified existing tensions while also raising new, pressing questions about the role of IP in global health.

This session seeks to bring together cutting-edge research that investigates the structural causes, consequences, and potential solutions to the challenges posed by IP in the context of access to health technologies. We welcome empirical and theoretical contributions from a range of disciplines, including law, economics, public policy, and global health.

This call invites submissions that relate to topics such as:

· The role of IP in public health emergencies (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic, antimicrobial resistance, future pandemic preparedness)

· Alternative frameworks to the current IP system for incentivising innovation and ensuring equitable access

· The governance of IP in global health, including the role of the WHO, WTO, WIPO, and regional organisations

· The role of civil society and social movements in shaping IP and access to health technology policies

· The role of data exclusivity, market exclusivity, and regulatory monopolies in shaping access to health technologies

· The future of compulsory licensing mechanisms and the effectiveness of voluntary licensing mechanisms in expanding access to health technologies

· The role of indigenous knowledge and traditional medicine in health innovation and the challenges of biopiracy and benefit-sharing under IP frameworks

Organisers: EPIP2025 Organising Team, in particular Alan Silva, Julia Wijns, and Esther van Zimmeren, University of Antwerp

Call abstract

The Intellectual Property (IP) dispute resolution landscape is rapidly changing due to factors such as increase in technological complexity, growing integration of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms into court systems, and the general rise in litigation and IP enforcement. While courts occupy a key position in IP enforcement, ADR mechanisms have emerged as complementary tools, leading to a re-evaluation of dispute resolution strategies. IP actors are increasingly viewing ADR mechanisms not just as alternatives to litigation, but as instruments for building trust, fostering collaboration, and maintaining business relationships.

This raises several fundamental questions about the role of dispute resolution in IP: what role do courts play in relation to ADR, and vice versa? What role do different IP actors (i.e., users, rights-holders, companies, etc.) have in shaping IP dispute resolution mechanisms? How can these systems adapt to handle complex disputes while ensuring accessibility, justice, and fairness?

This special session seeks to examine the evolving role of dispute resolution mechanisms in IP through multiple methodological lenses, including empirical, theoretical, and mixed-methods.

This call invites submissions that relate to topics such as:

· Trust and Institutional Design in IP Dispute Resolution

· Novel institutions of IP dispute resolution mechanisms, e.g., specialised IP courts, integration of ADR systems into courts

· ADR mechanisms for Standard Essential Patent (SEP) disputes

· Creating fair and equitable dispute resolution mechanisms on digital content platforms (e.g., Spotify, YouTube)

· Adapting dispute resolution frameworks for new challenges such as AI-generated content

· Author-publisher dispute resolution frameworks: toward an equitable publishing industry

· Dispute resolution mechanisms and innovation

Organisers: EPIP2025 Organising Team, in particular Daanish Naithani, Seun Lari-Williams, and Esther van Zimmeren, University of Antwerp

In addition to individual submissions, EPIP2025 also invites applications for a limited number of themed sessions on a topic related to the leading themes mentioned above.

Proposals for themed sessions should be submitted through the submission platform and will be subject to a review and selection process.

Two options for themed sessions exist:

1. Closed themed session: you can propose a session that already identifies the session organiser(s)/chair(s), session discussants, and all speakers. In this case, you are expected to:

a. submit a 350-word abstract describing the overarching theme of the session;

b. identify session discussants;

c. submit a file containing extended abstracts/full papers for the paper presentations without including the names of the authors;

d. ensure that authors of the extended abstracts/full papers register for the EPIP2025 conference if the themed session is accepted;

e. ensure that the extended abstracts/full papers comply with the author instructions mentioned below.

2. Open themed session: you can propose a session that is open to additional participants where no or only some of the speakers are already identified, and you would like to host papers selected through the regular review and submission process by the EPIP2025 Organising Committee. In this case, you are expected to:

a. submit a 350-word abstract describing the overarching theme of the session;

b. identify session discussants;

c. if some speakers are already identified: submit a file listing extended abstracts or full papers for the paper presentations without including the names of the authors;

d. ensure that authors of the extended abstracts/full papers register for the EPIP2025 conference if the themed session is accepted;

e. ensure that the extended abstracts/full papers comply with the author instructions mentioned below.

The organising committee reserves the right to modify proposed open themed sessions in the final programme based on accepted contributions.

Authors who wish to submit a full paper need to comply with the following instructions:

- full papers do not include the names of the (co-)authors nor their affiliations to ensure the fairness of the double-blind peer review process;

- full papers are submitted as word files;

- full papers should contain references following a uniform style (footnotes or in text references depending on disciplinary standard) and a bibliography;

- the full paper should at least contain a description of:

o the background/context of the paper

o the relevance/original contribution of the paper to the state of the art

o the research question/hypothesis

o the research methodology used in the paper

o (preliminary) results of the research

o a discussion of the (preliminary) results/implications of the research.

Only papers that follow these instructions will be considered for the review process.

Authors who wish to submit an extended abstract need to comply with the following instructions:

- extended abstracts do not include the names of the (co-)authors nor their affiliations to ensure the fairness of the double-blind peer review process;

- extended abstracts are submitted as word files;

- the minimum length must be at least 1,500 words, and the extended abstract must not exceed 3,000 words (references included, bibliography excluded),

- the extended abstract should contain references following a uniform style (footnotes or in text references depending on disciplinary standard) and a bibliography;

- the extended abstract should at least contain a description of:

o the background/context of the paper

o the relevance/original contribution of the paper to the state of the art

o the research question/hypothesis

o the research methodology used in the paper

o (preliminary) results of the research

o a short discussion of the (preliminary) results/implications of the research

Only abstracts that follow these instructions will be considered for the review process.

30 April 2025: Applicants must submit their full paper or extended abstract via the online submission system.

Early June 2025: results on admissions/rejections announced.

Accepted authors (first authors) are requested to confirm their participation by:

Step 1. Sending a confirmation e-mail to epip2025@unatwerpen.be

Step 2. Registering for the conference and paying the early bird fee by 30 June 2025.

Co-authors can register for the conference until August 10, 2025, but will be accepted on a first come, first served basis.

In order to ensure the quality of the conference, feasibility of the organisation of the conference, and the ambiance at the event, the EPIP Board has expressed a preference for the annual EPIP conferences to be limited to a maximum number of 300 participants.

Detailed information on early bird, PhD, and Regular Fees is available below. The registration platform will be opened early June.

Registration Fees:

PhD ticket (early bird/regular): €150/€200

Regular ticket (early bird/regular): €275/€350

The EPIP association supports PhD researchers by offering them reduced conference registration fees. EPIP2025 offers a conference fee waiver to maximum five researchers who are carrying out their research at a university based in a developing country (as per the World Bank Classification of Low-Lower/Upper-Middle Income Countries).

EPIP recognises that these Researchers could greatly benefit from the annual EPIP conference and networking opportunities and that the association would equally benefit from learning about their research by facilitating their participation in the conference and offering a conference fee waiver.

To be considered for an EPIP2025 conference fee waiver, please submit an application for the conference fee waiver to epip2025@uantwerpen.be, including a copy of your CV (maximum 2 pages) and documentation of country of residence (example: copy of driver’s license or residence permit). Applications are assessed on a first come, first served basis; PhD applicants will be given priority.

If you do not include the requested items, your application will not be processed. When a completed application has been received, the application will be reviewed, and the applicant will be contacted within 10 business days of the decision. All information received will be considered confidential.

The EPIP Association supports young researchers at the beginning of their academic careers by awarding two Young Scholars Awards for the best full papers submitted by PhD researchers in economics/management, on the one hand, and law, on the other hand. Award winners are honored during the EPIP conference and receive a cash prize of 500€ for their paper.

Pilot: For EPIP2025, we are piloting the introduction of a new Interdisciplinary Young Scholars Award. Authors can request to be considered for the Interdisciplinary Young Scholars Award. To apply for the Interdisciplinary Young Scholars Award, authors must provide a justification of max. 350 words describing the interdisciplinary nature of the paper. At the discretion of the EPIP Board and depending on the number of requests and the quality of the submitted full papers, the Interdisciplinary Young Scholars Award will be granted for the best full interdisciplinary paper.

Junior researchers of eligible submissions should indicate whether their paper should be considered for the Young Scholars Award by ticking the relevant box during the submission process.

Preference will be given to excellent papers that are solely authored by young researchers. However, depending on the type of paper (e.g. extensive data collection involved) and the discipline involved, it might be common to have several co-authors. In that case, the junior researcher must confirm explicitly in the submission form that the submission for the award was agreed with the co-authors.

If junior researcher(s) of co-authored papers would like to qualify for the Young Scholars Award, the authors are obliged to specify the contributor roles of each of the co-authors in the submission form. Please follow the norms and requirements to describe the contributor roles provided by the Contributor Role Taxonomy (CRediT): https://credit.niso.org/

A PhD workshop will be held on the morning of Wednesday, 10 September 2025, as part of the annual conference. The workshop is aimed at providing an informal, safe, and constructive environment with an additional opportunity to get feedback on their PhD project and work in progress. The PhD Workshop will consist of a welcome address and parallel meetings organised according to the thematic focus of the PhD projects, while ensuring an interesting mix of disciplines and profiles. Feedback will be provided by expert discussants and peers based on submitted short papers.

In addition, the feedback sessions will be followed by a speed-date session focused on career planning during and after the PhD, with a particular focus on the variety of opportunities in different areas of academia, policy, and practice.

Participation in the PhD workshop will require the submission of some additional documents. More detailed information regarding these documents will be provided after registration for the conference.

Conditional upon the registration for the annual conference, PhD researchers can participate for free in the PhD workshop.

*More information on the format of the workshop will be added closer to the event date.