Bridging Race + IP: The Challenges and Potential of Utilizing Transdisciplinary Methods to Undo the Unbearable Whiteness of Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property Research, Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2020, edited by Irene Calboli and Maria Lilla Montagnani

13 Pages Posted: 13 Aug 2019 Last revised: 28 Jun 2022

See all articles by Deidre A. Keller

Deidre A. Keller

Florida A & M University College of Law

Anjali Vats

University of Pittsburgh - School of Law; University of Pittsburgh - Department of Communication

Date Written: July 29, 2019

Abstract

In this unpublished manuscript, we engage the storytelling methodologies that Derrick Bell, Richard Delgado and other critical race theorists articulate as vital to speaking truth to legal power. Storytelling, for us, operates as a means of exploring the methodological contours of Critical Race Intellectual Property while also emphasizing the need for connection and play in our intellectual work. Through a snapshot of intimate conversation between friends and collaborators, we show that a critical race studies approach to studying intellectual property law can and should take many forms, that are grounded in a multitude of (sub)disciplines, including Black Feminist Studies. We encourage legal thinkers to approach intellectual property with fresh perspectives, that grounded embodied persons in their contexts instead of exclusively focusing on the doctrinal components of law.

Keywords: Critical Race Intellectual Property, Critical Race Theory, intellectual property, copyrights, trademarks, patents, storytelling, narrative, methodology

Suggested Citation

Keller, Deidre A. and Vats, Anjali, Bridging Race + IP: The Challenges and Potential of Utilizing Transdisciplinary Methods to Undo the Unbearable Whiteness of Intellectual Property (July 29, 2019). Intellectual Property Research, Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2020, edited by Irene Calboli and Maria Lilla Montagnani , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3434591 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3434591

Deidre A. Keller (Contact Author)

Florida A & M University College of Law ( email )

201 Beggs Avenue
Orlando, FL 32801
United States

HOME PAGE: http://law.famu.edu

Anjali Vats

University of Pittsburgh - School of Law ( email )

3900 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
United States

University of Pittsburgh - Department of Communication

135 N Bellefield Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
United States

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