In this episode, our host Mauricio Figueroa travels to Singapore to sit down with Professor Irene Calboli, founder of the IP & Innovation Researchers of Asia (IPIRA) Network. Their conversation ranges widely: from the evolving landscape of legal scholarship and practice across Asia, to the way IPIRA’s annual conference brings together a diversity of voices from around the world. They also explore a noticeable rise in academic submissions, including the growing presence of AI-assisted research, and the challenges this presents for the field. Irene also shared anecdotes of her career and how she teaches innovation law in a truly global legal ecosystem.

Dr Mauricio Figueroa is a Lecturer at Durham Law School, where he teaches and conducts research in intellectual property and technology law. He is the host of the SCL Podcast.

Professor Irene Calboli is Regents Professor of Law at Texas A&M University School of Law. She specialises in intellectual property, trade, and cultural heritage law. A prolific scholar, she has published ten books and more than 100 articles, book chapters, and policy reports. She holds several honorary and visiting appointments, including at Sciences Po Paris, the University of Melbourne, Singapore University of Social Sciences, National Law School of India University, Delhi, Bocconi University, and Stanford University.

The IP & Innovation Researchers of Asia (IPIRA) Network is an academic organisation founded in 2018 to provide a platform for discussion and exchange on intellectual property and innovation-related issues in Asia, as well as from international and comparative law perspectives. Its mission is to foster a strong research community focused on intellectual property and innovation, and to create opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration among experts worldwide. The Network also seeks to promote engagement between researchers and policymakers, including officials from national governments and regional and international organisations, to support policy-oriented dialogue on intellectual property, innovation, and sustainable development.

Every time you click “generate” on a generative tool, a battle materialises: on one side, copyright holders; on the other, AI companies using that content to train their models. In this episode, we’re unpacking the AI copyright wars: how we got here, why everyone’s suddenly suing each other, and what it all means for creativity, jobs, and corporate responsibility. Host Mauricio Figueroa is joined by a litigator, a legal educator, and an in-house lawyer to explore these issues from different angles.

Dr Mauricio Figueroa teaches and researches at Durham Law School and is the host of the SCL podcast Privacy and Technology Laws around the World.

Efraín Olmedo is a seasoned practising lawyer and partner at ALBOR in Mexico City, where he focuses on high-stakes litigation and the strategic resolution of complex disputes involving trademarks, patents, copyrights, data governance, and consumer rights. He holds an LL.M. from the University of Michigan and is widely recognised for his expertise in intellectual property and image rights.

Dr Salvatore Fasciana is an Assistant Professor in Intellectual Property and Cyber Law at University of Sussex. His main research interests include intellectual property, Information technology, Distributed Ledger Technology, copyright, interactive entertainment law, esports, and virtual worlds.  His research embraced video games from an IP/IT perspective addressing the rights of players in gaming spaces. He holds a PhD from Queen Mary University of London.

Nish Imthiyaz is a global digital regulatory lawyer with experience in Privacy, AI and other digital regulations across Telco and Financial Services. As the Global Legal counsel for Vodafone, Nish drives the digital legal compliance strategy across its global operations, ensuring compliance with diverse and complex regulatory telecom landscape. Nish is currently focused on the intersection of privacy, digital regulations and Responsible AI. He regularly participates in policy-influencing initiatives exploring standards in AI Trustworthiness in Telecom and is an active member of several other industry and policy think-tanks.

Projects are not always delivered on time. Delay can give rise to disputes. There are accepted methods developed in the construction industry that are frequently deployed in relation to disputed IT delay, but changes in approach to technology projects to favour iterative delivery over traditional waterfall projects render construction delay methods increasingly inappropriate.

David Chaplin and William Hooper examine current delay methods, their pre-requisites and what has changed to cause differences between construction and IT project methods. They review the rise of iterative delivery and Agile projects. An approach is proposed for delay analysis of iterative IT projects, focused on agile scrum. They also consider the implications for lawyers developing contracts for these projects.

We live our lives online and, increasingly, we die there too. Our data, social media, and the relationships we build in virtual spaces often outlive us, sometimes reshaping how others experience loss. For this episode, Mauricio Figueroa chats with two world-leading voices in the field, a lawyer and a philosopher, Edina Harbinja (University of Birmingham) and Patrick Stokes (Deakin University), to explore what happens to our digital selves after death, and how questions of privacy, legacy, and identity persist beyond the grave.

Patrick Stokes is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. He is currently a Chief Investigator on the project “Digital Death and Immortality” (2024-26) funded by the Australian Research Council. His most recent book is "Digital Souls: A Philosophy of Online Death" (Bloomsbury, 2021).

Edina Harbinja is an Associate Professor in Law at University of Birmingham, specialising in digital rights, post-mortem privacy, digital remains, and the regulation of emerging technologies. Her work drives international legal and policy innovation in digital legacy and technology governance. She's the author of "Digital death, digital assets and post-mortem privacy: Theory, Technology and the Law" (Edinburgh University Press, 2022). She serves on the Advisory Council of the Open Rights Group, a leading digital rights advocacy organisation, and on the Executive Committee of the British and Irish Law, Education and Technology Association (BILETA).

Mauricio Figueroa is a legal scholar that teaches and writes on Law and Digital Technologies. He is the host of the SCL podcast "Privacy and Technology Laws Around the World".

The digital realm is built on earth, steel, and wires. Behind every byte lies a network of warehouses drawing power, cooling systems consuming water, and land once belonging to local communities. As AI expands, so do its environmental demands. Can the drive for technological innovation align with the fight for environmental justice? Host Mauricio Figueroa is joined by three leading voices from civil society, journalism and academia: Tamara Kneese, Diana Baptista and Fernando Barrio. Each of them brings their unique perspective on the costs, the possibilities, and the shared future of AI and the planet.

Mauricio Figueroa is a research scholar that teaches and writes on Law and Digital Technologies, and has international experience in legal research, teaching, and public policy. He is the host of the SCL podcast "Privacy and Technology Laws Around the World".

Tamara Kneese is the director of Data & Society Research Institute’s Climate, Technology, and Justice program. Previously, she led Data & Society’s Algorithmic Impacts Lab (AIMLab). Before joining D&S, she was lead researcher at Green Software Foundation, director of developer engagement on the Green Software team at Intel, and assistant professor of Media Studies and director of Gender and Sexualities Studies at the University of San Francisco. Her work has been published in academic journals including Social Text, the International Journal of Communication, and Social Media + Society and in popular outlets such as LARB, The Verge, Wired, and The Baffler. She is the author of Death Glitch: How Techno-Solutionism Fails Us in This Life and Beyond (Yale University Press, 2023). Tamara holds a PhD in Media, Culture and Communication from NYU. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Internet Society Foundation, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Diana Baptista is a Mexican data journalist with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, where she covers the intersection of tech, climate change and economic justice. As part of the Foundation, she also provides trainings for Latin American journalists on digital rights and AI ethics. Diana has more than a decade investigating human rights violations in the Americas and has previously collaborated with Reuters, Noticias Telemundo and newspaper REFORMA. 

Fernando Barrio is currently Reader in Sustainable Business Law and Policy at Queen Mary University of London. Fernando is the Queen Mary University of London Designated Focal Point to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. He led QMUL delegation to UNFCCC COP26 and COP27, and has been named member of the United Nations Climate Change organisation Technology Executive Committee’s Digital Technologies Group, by the Research and Independent Non-Governmental Organisations constituency. He is a trustee of the Society for Computers and Law (SCL).

Latin America is an incredibly diverse region. Yet, from the shores of Baja California to the windswept plains of Argentinian Patagonia, it arguably shares more cultural common ground than Europe does as a whole. Despite this, it lacks a unified market zone like the European Union. Where does the region stand on tech and privacy legislation and policy? Are the debates unfolding across Latin America shaped by shared challenges? Do they reflect distinct, local realities? As emerging markets grappling with inequality and brimming with potential, these countries reveal both striking parallelisms and critical differences.

In this episode, host Mauricio Figueroa is joined by three experts to explore three key jurisdictions at the heart of Latin America's digital transformation: Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico.

Mauricio Figueroa is a research scholar that teaches and writes on Law and Digital Technologies, and has international experience in legal research, teaching, and public policy. He is the host of the SCL podcast "Privacy and Technology Laws Around the World".

Beatriz Botero is an Assistant Professor of Law at Sciences Po Law School and a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. She holds an LLM and a doctorate from Harvard Law School where she defended a dissertation on the governance of smart cities, urban platforms and the data they collect. She holds an LLB from Universidad de los Andes, in Bogotá, Colombia.

Barbara Lazarotto is a Ph.D. researcher at Law, Science, Technology and Society (LSTS) Research Group at Vrije Universiteit Brussel and an Executive Member of the Brussels Privacy Hub, where she conducts research on various topics regarding Data Protection Law, Digital Law, and Fundamental Rights. She is a Lecturer at Sciences Po Paris, where she teaches Digital legal matters and perspectives.

Luz Helena Orozco y Villa is a Dphil (PhD) Candidate at the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, a non-resident Scholar at the Baker Institute of Public Policy, Rice University, and a Research Assistant at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights. Prior to joining Oxford, she served as a career clerk for the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice and worked as a research advisor at the Gender Equality Program of the Federal Judicial Council.  Luz holds an LL.M. from Columbia Law School, where she studied as a Fulbright grantee and Charles B. Bretzfelder Constitutional Law scholar, and an LL.B. from ITAM, Mexico. Her current research lies at the intersection of constitutional law, regulation, and emerging technologies. 

In two common law nations where regulation intersects with digital innovation, and with relatively small populations, Australia and New Zealand offer distinct yet complementary perspectives on technology regulation and privacy law. How do their legal systems address issues of safety in the digital age, privacy rights, and the interests of Indigenous communities? And in what ways do they align with, or diverge from, international standards set by Europe and the United States?

In this episode, host Mauricio Figueroa is joined by three experts to discuss the policy and normative landscape of Australia and New Zealand. Tune in for an interesting conversation and through-provoking conversation about privacy and tech in these two countries.

The Panel:
 
Mauricio Figueroa is a legal scholar and educator. His area of expertise is Law and Digital Technologies, and has international experience in legal research, teaching, and public policy. He is the host of the SCL podcast "Privacy and Technology Laws Around the World".

Andelka Phillips is an academic and writer and her research interests are broadly in the areas of Technology Law, Privacy and Data Protection, as well as Medical Law, Intellectual Property, Cyber Security, and Consumer Protection. She has taught in law schools in four countries: the United Kingdom; the Republic of Ireland; New Zealand; and Australia. She is currently an Affiliate with the Bioethics Institute Ghent, Ghent University, Belgium and an Academic Affiliate with the University of Oxford’s Centre for Health, Law and Emerging Technologies (HeLEX). She is also an Associate Editor for the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand (JRSNZ), the first to be appointed from the discipline of Law. www.andelkamphillips.com

John Swinson is a former partner of a major international law firm and has 30 years of law firm experience in NY and Australia, with principle focus on technology law and intellectual property law.  He is a Professor of Law at The University of Queensland, where he teaches privacy law, cybersecurity law, and Internet & IT law.

Raffaele Ciriello is Senior Lecturer in Business Information Systems at the University of Sydney, whose research focuses on compassionate digital innovation and the ethical and societal impacts of emerging technologies. His work critically examines issues of digital responsibility, decentralised governance, and public interest technology, with recent projects spanning AI companions, blockchain infrastructures, and national digital sovereignty.

In a country where cutting-edge technology is both embraced and shaped by cultural norms, Japan presents a fascinating case study for the future of privacy and tech law. How does Japan’s technological landscape influence its legal frameworks, and how do those frameworks differ from or align with Western counterparts?

In this episode, host Mauricio Figueroa is joined by two leading legal experts from Japan, Kaori Ishii and Hajime Idei, to explore this complex and often overlooked jurisdiction in the global conversation on tech law. Tune in for an interesting conversation on the intersection of culture, technology, and law in one of the world’s most innovative nations.

Mauricio Figueroa is a Mexican legal scholar based in the United Kingdom. His area of expertise is Law and Digital Technologies, and has international experience in legal research, teaching, and public policy. He is the host of the SCL podcast "Privacy and Technology Laws Around the World".

Kaiori Ishii is a Professor in Chuo University, Faculty of Global Informatics from April 2019.

Before joining Chuo University, her professional experience included roles as a lawyer, in-house counsel, and academic positions at the Institute of Information Security and the University of Tsukuba.

Her research focuses on legal issues related to data protection and privacy across different countries. Her work includes comparative analyses of data protection legislation, exploring insights into the right to privacy, and examining how to harmonize current technological advancements with privacy protections. Recently, she has been interested in the intersection of privacy and data protection with competition law and consumer protection law.

She has been involved in various expert committees under the Cabinet Secretariat, ministries, and local governments in Japan, where she has provided input based on her expertise.

Hajime Idei is Japanese lawyer, graduated from Waseda University School of Law. After working at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, he joined Kotto Dori Law Office (https://www.kottolaw.com/en/). His specialty is entertainment law. He mainly advises the anime, game, AI, and VR industries.

From 2020 to 2023, he was involved in Japan's Intellectual Property policy as an assistant counsellor at the Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters of the Cabinet Office.

His publications include “The Current State of the Debate on the Copyrightability of AI Creations and Future Legal Practice” (July 2024).

Since 2022, he has also served as an auditor of the Japanese Animation Society, researching development of Japanese anime culture.

The U.S. legal system is at a crossroads in the field of technology: Can it keep up with the rapid experimentation and deployment in AI ? While some states push for stronger privacy and AI laws, the federal government appears to lean toward deregulation. How does this fragmented approach impact businesses, consumers, and the future of technology?

Mauricio Figueroa sits down with legal professionals Chris Mammen and Maria Angel, two experts based on opposite coasts of the U.S., bringing complementary and insightful perspectives. Together, they discuss the evolving legal challenges around privacy, intellectual property, and content moderation in the United States.

Mauricio Figueroa is a Mexican legal scholar based in the United Kingdom. His area of expertise is Law and Digital Technologies, and has international experience in legal research, teaching, and public policy. He is the host of the SCL podcast "Privacy and Technology Laws Around the World".

Chris Mammen is the Office Managing Partner of Womble Bond Dickinson's San Francisco office, who has guided Silicon Valley, national, and global tech and life sciences clients in high-stakes patent, other intellectual property, and technology litigation for over 25 years. He has led both large and small trial teams in courts throughout the United States, and has also served as lead counsel on appeals before the Ninth and Federal Circuits. His clients include companies in the software, artificial intelligence, telecommunications, microelectronics, medical devices, and life sciences sectors. Before joining Womble Bond Dickinson in 2019, Chris practiced in the Bay Area offices of several nationally-known law firms.  One of only a handful of practicing lawyers to have earned a doctorate in Law from Oxford University in addition to a U.S. law degree, Chris has held visiting faculty positions at UC Hastings School of Law, Berkeley Law School, Stanford Law School, and Oxford University. Drawing on his years of teaching civil procedure, evidence, e-discovery, and advanced patent law, Chris is a creative strategist and has marked wins for clients on a variety of unconventional issues. Before entering law practice, Chris clerked for Judge Robert Beezer on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

María P. Ángel is a Postdoctoral Resident Fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project (ISP). She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Washington School of Law. Her research focuses on privacy law, law and technology, and Science and Technology Studies (STS). Using STS’s theoretical and conceptual framework, María examines legal debates on privacy regulation and algorithmic governance. Her work aims to influence and hopefully improve scholarship and public policy discussions on these matters, by surfacing the transformation of key working concepts used by legal actors, the normative commitments that underpin certain proposed regulatory reforms, and the diverse ways in which different stakeholders understand the role of technology in these conversations.

How is India governing personal data, AI systems, and content moderation?

Mauricio Figueroa is joined by Jhalak Kakkar, Divij Joshi and Krishna Deo Singh to discuss the evolution of privacy and technology law in India, the largest common law jurisdiction in the world, and the challenges presented by its unique approach to technology and governance.

The Panel:

Mauricio Figueroa in an early career researcher that has published peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on digital technology law; taught university courses on Contract Law, Introduction to Legal Theory, and Alternative Dispute Resolution; and currently the host of the SCL podcast "Privacy and Technology Laws Around the World".

Jhalak M. Kakkar is Executive Director at the Centre for Communication Governance at National Law University Delhi as well as a Visiting Professor at the National Law University Delhi. She leads the academic and policy research at CCG across pressing information law and policy issues such as data governance and privacy, platform regulation, governance of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, and cybersecurity. She graduated with an LLM from Harvard Law School, Cambridge, USA on a Fulbright-Nehru Masters Fellowship. She has a five-year integrated social science and law degree from the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, India.

Divij Joshi is a lawyer and researcher studying the intersections of technology, regulation and society, based in London and India. Prior to joining UCL, he was a practicing lawyer at the offices of AZB & Partners in Mumbai, and a public policy professional. He has led and contributed to various research projects with Indian and international civil society, including a pioneering study of algorithmic accountability in the public sector, with the AI Now Institute, the Ada Lovelace Institute and the Open Government Partnership; research on information governance with the Centre for Law and Policy Research, the Centre for Internet and Society, and Vidhi Karnataka. He edits and contributes to SpicyIP, a world-leading legal resource with the mission of democratising debates around intellectual property law in India.

Krishna Deo Singh is an Indian-based scholar who works in the field of technology laws with a special focus on algorithmic nudging, algorithmic regulation, and a jurisprudential approach towards how technologies such as AI impact the nature of law and regulation. He has been a part of the Jean Monnet Chair at Jindal Global University. He is also pursuing his PhD at Jindal Global Law School, studying the regulation of AI powered personalized assistants in their role as choice architects. An author of several scholarly articles, his recent works explore the issues manipulation and nudging by AI systems, which include dark patterns, regulation of recommender systems etc. One of his forthcoming book chapters applies the philosophy of Advait Vedanta to potentially manipulative AI systems. Another paper has extensively explored the issue of ‘beneficence’ as an ethical principle in AI ethics and builds the argument that a far more clear and robust understanding of beneficence is not just a ‘good to have’ aspect of AI ethics, but in fact an essential feature, without which AI ethics remains disoriented.