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: Copyright at 50 – Can the Law Keep Up?
Copyright law has always had to contend with a rather difficult question: how do you make rules for creative works when the ways we create, share and use them keep changing?
This month, the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 turned 50. Signed into law on 19 October 1976, it was the first major revision of American copyright law since 1909, and its principal provisions came into effect in 1978. Fifty years later, it remains the foundation of the U.S. copyright framework, even as the world in which it operates has changed considerably.
When the Act was introduced, the challenges facing copyright looked very different from those we grapple with today. Since then, we have seen the rise of personal computing, the internet, digital sharing platforms and more recently, generative AI. Each has raised new questions about what copyright protects, how creative works can be used and where we should draw the line between exclusive rights and the public’s ability to access and build upon existing works.
What makes the 1976 Act particularly interesting is that it was not simply about expanding protection. It also gave statutory recognition to fair use, a doctrine that allows certain uses of copyrighted works without permission. That flexibility has since become an important part of debates around research, education, transformative uses and emerging technologies.
And this brings us to a question worth thinking about: what does it take for a copyright law to remain relevant across five decades of technological change? Can a law built around one set of creative practices adapt to technologies its drafters could not have anticipated? Or do repeated amendments and judicial interpretations eventually leave us with a framework that needs a more fundamental rethink?
These questions feel especially relevant today, as courts and policymakers grapple with generative AI, the use of copyrighted works to train AI systems and the future of human creativity in an increasingly automated world. The anniversary is not just an opportunity to look back at the Act’s history, but also to consider what we expect from copyright law in the years ahead.
This week, we ring the bell for the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, for giving us a framework that has weathered considerable technological change and for prompting us to ask whether copyright can continue to adapt to a world that shows no signs of slowing down.
EVENTS
1. 15th Peter A. Jaszi Distinguished Lecture on Intellectual Property
5 November 2026 | 6 PM ET | Hybrid
To mark the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, PIJIP will host Robert J. Kasunic for the lecture “Policing the Boundaries of Copyright: How Registration Improves the Development of the Copyright System.” The lecture will examine the role of copyright registration in shaping and developing copyright law.
More info
2. WIPO Online Mediation and Arbitration Workshop
17–19 November 2026 | 10 AM–12 PM CET | Online
The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center is organising a workshop on alternative dispute resolution options for intellectual property and technology disputes. Designed for mediators, arbitrators, IP lawyers, in-house counsel, patent and trademark attorneys, and business professionals, the workshop will cover WIPO mediation and arbitration procedures, practical case applications, current trends in IP dispute resolution, and drafting effective dispute resolution clauses. Certificates of participation will be issued to attendees who complete all three days.
More info | Register here
OPPORTUNITIES
1. Faculty Positions at NLSIU
Application Deadline: 26 October 2026 | 5 PM IST
The National Law School of India University invites applications for faculty positions, including Associate Professor and Professor roles in Law, Public Policy, and Humanities and Social Sciences.
More info
2. Call for Proposals: EGPA Study Groups, Ad Hoc Groups and Specialised Panels 2027
Proposal Deadline: 29 November 2026
The European Group for Public Administration (EGPA) invites proposals for new Permanent Study Groups, Ad Hoc Groups and Specialised Panels for its 2027 Annual Conference, to be held at Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary, from 24–27 August 2027. Results will be communicated on 8 January 2027.
More info
3. Call for Submissions: Journal of Intellectual Property Laws (JIPL), Volume X
Submission Deadline: 30 November 2026
The Centre for Intellectual Property Rights, Institute of Law, Nirma University, invites original and unpublished submissions for Volume X of the Journal of Intellectual Property Laws. The theme is “Intellectual Property Rights in the Digital Economy: Data Protection, Cybersecurity, and Digital Personality in the Age of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence.” Submissions are invited from academicians, legal professionals, research scholars and students pursuing undergraduate, postgraduate or doctoral studies.
More info
4. CUHK LAW PhD in Laws Programme 2027–28
Application Deadline: 1 December 2026 | Clearing Round: 31 March 2027
The Faculty of Law at The Chinese University of Hong Kong invites applications for its Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Laws Programme for the 2027–28 academic year. Applicants are encouraged to apply through the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS).
More info
Shout out to 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.
