Intellectual Property is not ontological but contingent on policy.

There has been a growth of scholarship in recent years analyzing intellectual property law’s impact on minorities and indigenous people. Awareness of intellectual property’s disproportionate impacts on these groups can increase equality and lead to better laws. Critical Race Intellectual Property has also emerged as a movement focused on the racial and colonial non-neutrality of intellectual property regimes, including copyright. Its goals include “reconstructing racial and neo-colonial hierarchies in the evolving contexts of intellectual property,” especially important in a rapidly changing world where infringement is easier than ever because of technology. Discussing intellectual property’s racial impacts can be productive for thinking about addressing both racism and social injustice in intellectual property law. In addition to remedying past discrimination, a critical race focus on intellectual property law regimes will also help ensure history is not repeated.

In addition to public awareness and scholarship, there are other proposed solutions out there that are focused on ensuring adequate intellectual property protection for groups that have faced legal and economic obstacles. These include improving access to legal services, increasing protection of personal rights in works, and heightening the originality standard needed to obtain copyright protection. Further, increasing scrutiny of copyright applications may help address disparities resulting from intellectual property laws.