Annual Congress of the Society for Economic Research on Copyright Issues (SERCI)

Dates: July 7 and 8, 2025 (Monday and Tuesday)

Time: 9am to 5pm

Venue: Academic Conference Room, 11/F Cheng Yu Tung Tower, The University of Hong Kong

Registration link: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_regform.aspx?guest=Y&UEID=101164

Program

Day 1:     Monday July 7 

8:30        Registration desk opens.

9:00        Welcome speeches: Ariel Katz (SERCI President), and Ryan Whalen (HKU).

9:30        Session 1: SERCI Annual Guest Keynote Lecture. Chairperson: Ariel Katz (University of Toronto).

Speaker: Stefan Bechtold (ETH Zurich), “Copyright and Human Behavior”.

10:30      Coffee break

11:00      Session 2. Chairperson: Kristelia García (Georgetown University).

1. Ryan Whalen(HKU), “Musical Fair Use Networks”.
2. Soojung Crystal Chun (Georgia Institute of Technology), “Protect or Promote? Strategic Framing and Stakeholder Tensions in the Copyright AI Debate”.
3. Christian Handke(Erasmus University of Rotterdam), “The Great Piracy Experiment and its Lessons Regarding Ethics”.

12:30      Lunch break (Lunch will be served for invited guests)

13:30      Session 3. Chairperson: Joost Poort (University of Amsterdam).

1. Dennis Khong (Multimedia University Malaysia), “Copyright in a World of Zero Creation Cost”.
2. Giovanni Ramello (University of Turin), “Social Norms, Copyright and Scientific Publications”.
3. Zhengyi Zhang (Waseda University), “Economic Analysis of Game Companies’ Behavior”.

15:00      Coffee break

15:30      Session 4. Chairperson: Richard Watt (University of Canterbury)

1. Martin Kretschmer (University of Glasgow), “Copyright earnings and labour markets in creative industries: what have we learned from a series of UK surveys since 2006”.
2. Sandra Hui (Intellectual Property Department, HKSAR), “Latest Developments in Hong Kong’s Copyright Regime”.

 

Day 2:     Tuesday July 8 

9:30     Session 5. Chairperson: Ryan Whalen (HKU)

1. Nikhil Purohit (Supreme Court of India), “Orphan Works: A Law and Economics Analysis”.
2. Yahong Li (HKU), “New Neighboring Rights for AIGC”.

10:30      Coffee break

11:00      Session 6. Chairperson: Christian Handke (Erasmus University of Rotterdam).

1. Shreya Goswami (Goenka University), “AI, Creative Destruction and Copyright Law: Economic and Legal Implications in the Music Industry”.
2. Junhan Wang (Tsinghua University), “Forced to Pursue Science: Entity List Triggers Science Seeking Innovation”.
3. Alexander Cuntz (WIPO), “Elvis’ Ghost or Digital Replica: Publicity Rights and Integrated IP Strategy”.

12:30      Lunch break (Lunch will be served for invited guests) 

13:30      Session 7. Chairperson: Nikhil Purohit (Supreme Court of India)

1. Jiehao Zhang (Tsinghua University), “The Hidden Cost of Superficial Practices: Patent Citation of False Science and Startup Funding”.
2. Zachary Cooper(VU Amsterdam), “Dams for the Infinite River: Limits to Copyright’s Power Over the Next Generation of Generative AI Media”.

15:00      Coffee break

15:30      Session 8. Chairperson: Giovanni Ramello (University of Turin)

1. Martin Kretschmer (University of Glasgow), “Copyright and Alin in the UK: Opting-in or Opting-out?”.
2. Juliana Patricio da Paixão (Independent Lawyer and Judge), “Unfair Competition and Parasitic Behavior in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Economic and Legal Implications”.
3. Kalpana Tyagi (Maastricht University), “Generative AI, EU Press Publisher’s Rights and the Australian News Bargaining Approach: Copyright and Competition Law as Enablers of Media Plurality and Diversity of Opinion”.

For inquiries, please contact Ms. Grace Chan at mcgrace@hku.hk / 39174727.