Join us this Monday, 18 May at 6:30 pm for a public lecture titled Reimagining Intellectual Property to Ensure Inclusive Science, delivered by Professor Maggie Chon. This hybrid event, held at Villa Barton and online, will explore how we can reshape global intellectual property (IP) frameworks to make cutting-edge scientific knowledge accessible to the majority of the world’s population. Professor Chon will specifically address how generative AI for human language translation could solve huge disparities in scientific access. Currently, over 90 percent of scientific publications are exclusively in English, which denies access to over 75 percent of the world’s population.
This lecture is part of a new collaboration and joint project between the Centre on Knowledge Governance and Executive Education at the Geneva Graduate Institute. The lecture will be followed by a reception.
The Centre on Knowledge Governance is an affiliated programme of the Geneva Graduate Institute, operating as a joint project with American University’s Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP). The core mission of the Centre is to promote justice, knowledge equity, and sustainable development within the policy-making institutions that govern the access and use of information.
To achieve these goals, the Centre offers educational programmes, conducts research, and provides technical assistance to diplomats, government policymakers, and public interest stakeholders engaged in international IP rights. The Centre coordinates a network of scholars and research institutes around the world. The Centre’s diverse focus areas currently include World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) negotiations, the protection of traditional knowledge, access to knowledge for education, research, and cultural heritage, recognition and fair remuneration for creators, medical innovation and access, and the intersection of copyright, the right to research, and Just AI.
Building on this partnership, the Centre and Executive Education are collaborating on several upcoming joint events designed for global professionals and scholars. A major highlight is the Executive Course on IP and Artificial Intelligence, scheduled for 29 and 30 September.
This intensive two-day course offers a comprehensive, comparative analysis of the rapidly evolving legal and policy landscape at the intersection of AI and IP. Participants will dive into pressing legal challenges, such as copyright protection for AI training data, the patentability and copyright of AI-generated outputs, and the delicate balance between proprietary rights and the public interest in computational research. The course culminates in a practical role-play exercise in which students draft a model international legal instrument to ensure fair remuneration for creators while safeguarding the rights of researchers and public-interest organisations developing AI infrastructure.
A portion of the Centre’s current work revolves around the concept of Just AI. As artificial intelligence becomes central to global research in fields ranging from health to the humanities, the Centre is actively working with a network of 100 scholars across 30 countries and with representatives of governments in multilateral organisations to define a supportive policy agenda.
The Centre defines “Just AI” as an approach that combines the push for public accountability and accessibility in AI infrastructure with human rights concerns. This includes protecting the moral and material interests of creators, safeguarding the stewardship of traditional knowledge and cultural expressions by local communities, and prioritising the developmental needs of the Global South.
The Centre also highlights several case studies on its Just AI page, demonstrating how computational methods can solve global challenges. For instance, researchers at the University of Pretoria are broadening health access by creating a talking health chatbot based on a Large Language Model trained on South African vernacular TV shows. Another cross-border collaboration is developing a hierarchical creative commons license called NOODL, facilitating access to African works for non-profit users while ensuring local communities benefit. Additionally, initiatives like LATAM-GPT are working to create a culturally sensitive large language model using ethically sourced data for Latin America.
To further explore these themes, the Centre will host a conference entitled Copyright, the Right to Research and Just AI on 1 October 2026. This full-day hybrid event brings together the Global Network on Copyright User Rights to present scholarship and host breakout sessions. Discussions will focus on the WIPO limitations and exceptions agenda (including the African Group Proposal for an Instrument), how copyright norms can promote “Public AI” policies, and the protection of creators’ interests and traditional knowledge during AI development.
For those looking to engage with the Centre on Knowledge Governance, we invite you to explore the Centre’s recent research and blog posts on our News and Events page. Recent highlights include “Analysis of the Key Copyright Issues before WIPO,” which breaks down the crucial debates on copyright exceptions for libraries, research, and AI. Other recent publications include explorations of “A Scale of Tools for Copyright and AI Training Data?” and reports on the convening power of the Centre to foster dialogue among global experts.
