About the Summer School
“Intellectual Property” law and policy operate beyond conventional legal domains, functioning as a critical governance mechanism that bridges statutory frameworks and regulatory implementation. A nuanced understanding of IP’s constructs therefore determines societal priorities, redefines markers of advancement, and establishes paradigms for valuing contributions.
This residential summer school is designed to empower students to cultivate critical pluralism in approaching Intellectual Property (IP) law and policy, particularly as they relate to innovation and progress. Rather than treating IP as an isolated legal domain, this program positions it as a dynamic governance mechanism that shapes and is shaped by political economy, public welfare, and knowledge ecosystems. Our aim is to develop a generation of thinkers who can interrogate dominant IP paradigms, engage with complex intersections between law, policy, and lived realities, and reimagine innovation as a truly inclusive and transformative force.
Unique Pedagogy
Inspired by Prof. Shamnad Basheer’s critique of linear and fragmented legal education, the SpicyIP Summer School aims to adopt his T-FLIP methodology — an integrative, immersive learning approach grounded in real-world complexity. This method eschews the idea that “patents” and “copyrights” and other IPs are (merely) vertically oriented ‘subjects’ but rather focuses on what role they play in thematic areas of inquiry.
T-FLIP Pedagogy:
– Theme-Based Inquiry
– Flipped Dynamics
– Interdisciplinary Synthesis
– Polycentric Exploration
Through this methodology, the learning mirrors the complexity of real-world IP governance. Participants dissect themes through role-playing and simulations, case studies, debates and dialogues – synthesizing law, ethics, and political economy. This approach rejects siloed ‘black letter law’ training, instead fostering agile thinkers equipped to navigate India’s contested innovation landscapes. Thus, it aims to simultaneously prepare students for non-linear problem-solving, while also demystifying IP’s societal interfaces.
In addition to the Core Faculty, sessions will be taken by invited Expert Speakers, and the course will contain regular organiser-led breakout sessions to help with critical reflection on materials being taught.
Themes
The 8-day program is framed as an immersive intellectual exploration, weaving through issues of access, innovation, regulation, creativity, commons, power, and progress that emerge from the two central themes that the Summer School will be centered around include:
1. The ‘Pharma Stack’, and
2. ‘Creativity, Culture, and Contracts’
Sessions will be interspersed with discussions, workshops, interactive exercises and breakout sessions to facilitate critical learning and thinking around these areas. These breakout sessions will include group exercises, QnA sessions, time for writing and reflection, quizzes, ‘meet the musician’, panel discussions on career and higher studies, and more. The aim of these sessions is that each day builds toward a culminating reflection on how IP systems can be reimagined for the public good.
Core Faculty
We’re thrilled to have an excellent set of Core Faculty who will each be present for multiple days of the Summer School, taking students through different analytical lenses in approaching the core themes.
Expert Speakers
Our Expert Speakers will also come in to engage with students on specific niche areas, conduct workshops and to participate in fireside chats!
Keep an eye on this space as we reveal more Expert Speakers who will be coming in for the Summer School!
By the end of the program, students will:
- Grasp the real-world complexity of IP systems.
- Understand how IP interacts with innovation, equity, regulation, and creativity.
- Engage in dynamic simulations that provide insight into multi-stakeholder negotiations, drafting of key legal documents, and other critical activities related to IP management, prosecution, enforcement, etc.
- Produce public-facing knowledge outputs.
- Critically evaluate the limits and possibilities of IP as a tool for societal progress.
- Participate in discussions on leading contemporary IP issues with industry experts.
- Engage with a network of leading IP professionals beyond the program.
For any queries or clarifications, please reach out to academy[at]spicyip[dot]com
Organising Team: Dr Zakir Thomas, Swaraj Paul Barooah, Deepali B Nayak.
This Summer School would not have been possible without assistance from (in no particular order): Praharsh Gour, Namrata Dubey, Md. Sabeeh Ahmad, Gaurangi Kapoor, Tanishka Goswami, Akriti Bopanna, Anushka Dhankar, Akshat Agrawal, Lokesh Vyas, Anjali Tripathi, Sanil Chhetri, Rishiraj Chandan & Shruthi Chandrasekaran
Materials Designed by: Gaurangi Kapoor, Anushka Dhankar, Tanishka Goswami.