Welcome back to another week of Bells & Whistles. As always, we’ve rounded up a mix of developments, opportunities, and thoughtful reads from across the IP world along with a Bell of the Week that’s well worth revisiting.
Bell of the Week: The Internet
Some bells do not just chime, they connect.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how people search for answers when the usual systems fail them. In Diagnosis, based on Lisa Sanders’ column in The New York Times, patients with rare, undiagnosed conditions turn to the internet to reach doctors across the world. What would have once required years of travel, resources, and chance encounters is now made possible through a shared digital space.
It is hard not to think of Lorenzo’s Oil, where a family navigates a rare disease through relentless research and global collaboration, long before the internet made such connections easier, faster, and more immediate. What once depended on extraordinary effort is now, at least in part, enabled by infrastructure.
In the world of intellectual property, it has expanded everything. Access to books, music, films, and research. The visibility and enforcement of rights. The growth of archives, open access movements, and shared knowledge systems. It has allowed ideas to travel faster, further, and more unpredictably than ever before.
But more than that, it has built communities around knowledge: people who read, question, share, protect and sometimes resist the very systems that govern it.
In moments like these, whether in the search for a diagnosis or in the circulation of creative works, the internet feels more than just a tool. It shapes how we find answers, how we create and how we connect.
Some bells do not just chime, they remind us that sometimes the most powerful infrastructures are the ones we almost forget to notice.
EVENTS
1. Roundtable: “Copyright in Practice: Perspectives from Archives and Libraries” | NLSIU
28 March 2026 | 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM | Conference Hall, Training Centre, Bengaluru
National Law School of India University is hosting a roundtable on “Copyright in Practice: Perspectives from Archives and Libraries,” jointly organised by the Queer Archive for Memory, Reflection and Activism (QAMRA) and the Centre for Intellectual Property Research and Advocacy (CIPRA). The session will bring together archivists, librarians, and legal scholars to examine how copyright law shapes—and at times constrains—the work of archives and libraries. The event is open to the public, with prior registration required.
More info
2. Workshop: “Patent Opposition in the Pharmaceutical Field” | IUCIPRS, CUSAT
Application Deadline: 31 March 2026
The Inter-University Centre for IPR Studies (IUCIPRS), CUSAT, in collaboration with the Third World Network, is organising the 7th edition of its workshop titled “Patent Opposition in the Pharmaceutical Field.” This in-person programme will be held at IUCIPRS, CUSAT, Kochi from 28 May to 1 June 2026 and will focus on key issues surrounding patent opposition in the pharmaceutical sector.
More info
3. Orange Minds – IPR Lecture Series | CIPAM, DPIIT
16 March – 10 April 2026
CIPAM has launched “Orange Minds,” a lecture series aimed at strengthening awareness and understanding of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) among students and young innovators. The sessions will cover diverse themes and feature eminent experts. Interested participants are requested to select and register for the sessions they wish to attend.
More info | Register here
OPPORTUNITIES
SpicyIP Summer School 2026: Rethinking IP – Foundations, Faults, and Futures
20–28 June 2026 | Whitefield, Bengaluru | Residential Programme
The SpicyIP Summer School returns with a 9-day residential programme designed to cultivate critical pluralism in intellectual property law and policy, inspired by the legacy of Shamnad Basheer. Limited to 25 participants, the programme brings together scholars, practitioners, and students for intensive discussions and collaborative learning. This year’s theme, “Rethinking IP: Foundations, Faults, and Futures,” focuses on three interlinked terrains of engagement that shape every session, encouraging participants to critically examine the conceptual foundations, systemic shortcomings, and future directions of IP law and policy. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
More info
1. PhD Opportunity: “Artists and Generative-AI: Copyright and Private Regulation of Creativity” | University of New South Wales
Commencement: June 2026 / September 2026 / February 2027
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is inviting applications for a funded PhD position as part of an Australian research grant project titled “Artists and Generative-AI: Copyright and Private Regulation of Creativity.” The project explores the intersection of AI, copyright law, and creative practices, with a focus on digital creativity, cultural policy, media studies, and the Australian creative industries. The successful candidate will work closely with the Arts Law Centre of Australia, contributing to legal education initiatives aimed at fostering more equitable partnerships between artists and industry stakeholders.
More info
2. PhD Opportunity: Creativity, Technology and Markets | CREATe, University of Glasgow
Deadline: 15 April 2026
CREATe is inviting applications for fully funded PhD research projects under its AHRC infrastructure research programme, focusing on legal and regulatory issues at the intersections of creativity, technology, and markets. The programme primarily engages with intellectual property law, competition law, and information technology law. The funding supports a 3-year PhD beginning in the 2026/2027 academic year, covering tuition fees (home or international rate, as applicable) along with an annual maintenance stipend at the UKRI rate.
More info
3. PhD Opportunity: Law and Business (Innovation Law / Intellectual Property Law) | LUISS Guido Carli University
Deadline: 17 April 2026, 16:00 (CEST)
LUISS Guido Carli University, Rome, has announced a fully funded PhD position under the PhD Programme in Law and Business (XLII cycle, a.y. 2026/2027), with a focus on Innovation Law and Intellectual Property Law. The programme offers candidates the opportunity to engage with the vibrant research ecosystem of the ILEO – Innovation Law and Ethics Observatory, supporting interdisciplinary work at the intersection of law, technology, and business.
More info
4. Scholarship Opportunity: International LLM in Intellectual Property Law | University of Liverpool
Deadline: 3 July 2026, 5:00 PM
Through MusicFutures, the University of Liverpool is offering 5 scholarships for the International LLM in Intellectual Property Law at the School of Law and Social Justice. The scholarships are aimed at students interested in the intersection of art, law, and the creative industries, and provide an opportunity to study these themes in a city deeply shaped by the history of popular music. The course is scheduled to begin on 21 September 2026 (Induction Week).
More info
Thanks to Niharika, Lokesh and Swaraj for the leads!
All non-sponsored listings featured here are events or opportunities free or nominally charged and ones we think our readers may be interested in. Sponsored listings will be marked as such. Unless specifically mentioned, SpicyIP has no affiliation to anything listed here. Know of an event worth sharing? Write to us at contact[at]spicyip[dot]com.
