The mission of the Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice (IIPSJ) is to empower politically, socially, and economically traditionally disadvantaged and excluded groups through facilitating their creation, use, and exploitation of intellectual property.
The Institute engages in three main types of activities: education and training; scholarly investigation of IP and empowerment; and public advocacy. It also provides direct services on a very limited basis such as advising clients on trademark issues. The Institute hopes to expand that aspect of its work in the future.
These three activities are realized through various Institute programs including IIPSJ's Think Tank, its international program, and its student-oriented program.
Foremost among these is the IIPSJ Intellectual Property Law and Policy Think Tank, which is the only IP Think Tank dedicated to evaluating IP law and policy and IP-related issues from the social justice perspectives of inclusion and empowerment. The IIPSJ Think Tank functions (1) as an incubator for developing new social justice oriented IP legislation and amending existing IP law; (2) as a institution around which Civil Rights activism and community awareness, education, entrepreneurship, and empowerment in the field of IP are centered; and (3) as a locus for scholarly and professional involvement on important national and international IP law and policy controversies.
IIPSJ is an officially recognized NGO affiliate of WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) and is ramping up IIPSJ's involvement in advocacy and support for international IP and development issues of various sorts.
IIPSJ's longest running program is IIPSJ at Howard University School of Law where IIPSJ supports the IP Clinic; conducts various programs during the year; supports student IP-related organizations and initiatives; and otherwise supports students in becoming IP social engineers in the Charles Hamilton Houston tradition.