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Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property

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IP & the Public Interest Speaker Series

Challenging Patents on Genes and Other Laws of Nature
Sandra Park
March 8, 2023 | 12:00PM ET | 16:00PM UTC | Virtual

Hosted by Charles Duan

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Sandra Park

Sandra Park is a Senior Staff Attorney in the ACLU Women’s Rights Project.  At the ACLU, Sandra engages in litigation, policy advocacy, and public education at the federal, state, and local levels to advance gender equality and the rights of women and girls.  Among other issues, she is responsible for the ACLU’s advocacy addressing the intersection of patent regulation and civil liberties.  She represented twenty medical organizations, geneticists, and patients in a groundbreaking lawsuit challenging patents granted on two human genes related to breast and ovarian cancers, resulting in a unanimous 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidating gene patents (Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics).  She previously worked as a Skadden Fellow at the Legal Aid Society of New York and clerked for U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York.  She is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College and NYU School of Law.

ABOUT THE HOST

Charles Duan

Charles Duan, is a senior policy fellow with American University Washington  College of Law’s Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property. He is also a member of the Patent Public Advisory Committee of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, is a senior fellow with the R Street Institute, a D.C. think tank, and was formerly the Director of the Patent Reform Project at Public Knowledge. His work and research focuses on intellectual property policy and its effects on the public interest in a variety of technology fields. Charles has a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Intellectual property laws such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks have tremendous impact on the public interest—essential medicines, telecommunications, freedom of expression, and consumer protection. In this speaker series, we will be joined by intellectual property experts at public-interest nonprofit organizations. They will discuss the big issues in IP law, as well as career path options in this unique field. These conversations will be of interest to seasoned practitioners looking to learn about key developments in law and policy, and students and young lawyers looking for less traveled job options in fast-moving and impactful fields.