IP and the Circular Economy: The Case of Upcycling – part 2

In the growing need for a circular economy, ‘upcycling’ is becoming a fashionable and sustainable way of creating ‘new’ products from trash. However, upcycling, i.e., transformative recycling of tangible copies of works or goods that are protected by some form of intellectual property (IP) law, is becoming the next conflict zone for IP rights holders and sustainability-oriented producers over the recycling of used consumables. This is especially true since IP rights and the circular economy are often in conflict by relying on the same resources with significantly different logics and policies.

This webinar series delves into the meaning and the promise of upcycling in a circular economy and the most fundamental conceptual elements of this phenomenon.

The two interconnected webinars analyse the legal meaning and risks of upcycling in all the major fields of IP law (including copyright and the various forms of industrial property law), and zooms out to inspect the impact the global impact of upcycling-related IP policies in the post-colonial Global South. The webinar also touches upon some major competition law related aspects of upcycling. The speakers include leading experts both from the academic and practical sides of IP law.

Moderator / chair: Dr. Heidi Härkönen, University of Turku Faculty of Law

Program

The second day in the webinar series focuses on the design and competition aspects of upcycling. We will get insight into the significance that upcycling has for creators, and the current EU design regime caters upcycling. Some major competition law aspects of upcycling are also covered.

13.00-13.05 Welcoming words
Heidi Härkönen, Doctor of Law, University of Turku

13.05-13.35 Keynote: The relevance of upcycling in sustainable design education, research and societal impact
Maria Rehbinder, Senior Legal Counsel, Aalto University

13.35-14.05 Upcycling from the perspective of design law
Anna Tischner, IP Chair, Jagiellonian University

14.05 -14.15 Break

14.15-14.45 Zooming out to economics
Joost Poort, Associate Professor / Co-director, University of Amsterdam

14.45-15.05 Moderator’s main outtakes from the seminar series
Heidi Härkönen, Doctor of Law, University of Turku