The Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FH UGM), will host the International Conference on Intellectual Property in Cross-Industry: Connect, Innovate, Grow!, taking place on August 11–12, 2026, at FH UGM, Yogyakarta. The program will feature seminars and an international conference bringing together academics, researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders to discuss developments and challenges in intellectual property (IP) law within an increasingly interconnected and innovation-driven economic ecosystem.
The international conference is a collaboration between the Indonesian Association of Intellectual Property Lecturers (Asosiasi Pengajar Hak Kekayaan Intelektual/APHKI), the Master of Business and State Law Program, the Master of Laws Program – Jakarta Campus, the Department of Business Law, and the Centre for Intellectual Property, Competition, and Dispute Settlement Mechanism Studies (CICODS) of FH UGM. Under the theme “Intellectual Property in Cross-Industry: Connect, Innovate, Grow!”, the conference responds to the increasingly interconnected nature of technology, creative industries, manufacturing, and digital platforms. In this context, intellectual property is viewed not only as an instrument of legal protection, but also as an essential component of the innovation ecosystem and knowledge-based economic growth.
The seminar will feature international and national speakers, including Deputy Minister of Law Prof. Dr. Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej, S.H., M.H., as the keynote speaker; Director General of Intellectual Property at the Ministry of Law of the Republic of Indonesia Hermansyah Siregar, S.H., M.H.; Director of Science and Technology Dissemination and Utilization at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Prof. Dr. Eng. Yudi Darma, S.Si., M.Si.; and Prof. M. Hawin, S.H., LL.M., Ph.D., Professor at the Department of Business Law, FH UGM.
Sejumlah pembicara dari tingkat internasional dan nasional hadir dalam agenda seminar ini, antara lain Wakil Menteri Hukum Prof. Dr. Edward Omar Sharif Hiarej, S.H., M.H. sebagai keynote speaker, Direktur Jenderal Kekayaan Intelektual Kementerian Hukum Republik Indonesia Hermansyah Siregar, S.H., M.H., Direktur Diseminasi dan Pemanfaatan Sains dan Teknologi Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi, Sains, dan Teknologi Prof. Dr. Eng. Yudi Darma, S.Si., M.Si., serta Prof. M. Hawin, S.H., LL.M., Ph.D. guru besar Departemen Hukum Bisnis FH UGM.
Perspektif internasional juga dihadirkan melalui Dr. Allison Fish, JD, MPA, Ph.D., Associate Professor dari The University of Queensland, Australia. Sementara itu, aspek teknologi digital dan industri kreatif akan dibahas bersama Dandy Yudha Feryawan, S.E., M.A., Direktur Teknologi Digital Baru Kementerian Ekonomi Kreatif, serta Marcellius ‘Marcell’ K. H. Siahaan, S.H., M.H., Chairman Related Rights pada Lembaga Manajemen Kolektif Nasional (LMKN) yang juga merupakan penyanyi dan artis papan atas tanah air.
Meanwhile, the conference agenda spans 13 thematic panels addressing a wide range of intellectual property issues. The topics raised include industrial design and the creative industry; commercialization, financing, and IP-based business; data, privacy, trade, and biodiversity governance; copyright and digital platforms; music and creative commercialization; artificial intelligence (AI) and digital creativity; trademarks and digital markets; patents, biotechnology, and access to innovation; geographical indications and local economic development; as well as communal intellectual property, traditional cultural expressions, traditional knowledge, and community resilience.
Several of the topics discussed also point to a direct link between IP and the sustainable development agenda among them strengthening local economic competitiveness through industrial design protection, traditional knowledge-based food security, IP governance for sustainable innovation and net zero emissions, empowering MSMEs through collective trademarks, and safeguarding cultural heritage and developing innovation ecosystems.
The staging of this conference is likewise in step with the spirit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Discussions on IP commercialization, financing backed by IP assets, MSME growth, the creative industry, geographical indications, and local economic development open up space to strengthen the economic value of innovation and creativity, representing SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). The conference positions IP as a key instrument within the innovation ecosystem, including through discussions on AI, biotechnology, digital technology, patents, industrial design, and the commercialization of innovation outputs, representing SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure). Talks on legal certainty, IP governance, rights protection, law enforcement, dispute resolution mechanisms, and the balance between IP protection and the public interest support the strengthening of effective institutions and legal governance in line with SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions). Collaboration among APHKI, UGM, WIPO, government, academics, practitioners, and international partners underscores the importance of cross-institutional and cross-border partnerships in responding to IP challenges that are cross-sectoral and transnational in nature, representing SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
As part of the conference's series of events, APHKI also held its National Congress (Munas) to elect the association's chairperson for the 2026–2029 term. This year's Munas APHKI also served as a moment of nostalgia, given that APHKI's founding and declaration took place at FH UGM fifteen years ago, to be exact on 12 December 2011.
Through this series of conference agendas, UGM as a recipient of the WIPO IP Enterprise Medal (2022), the WIPO National Award for Inventors (2023), and the WIPO Award for Innovative Enterprise (2014) reaffirms the university's role as a space for knowledge production, policy dialogue, and the strengthening of collaborative networks to address the legal challenges emerging alongside advances in technology and the innovation-driven economy. The conference is expected not to stop at the exchange of academic ideas, but also to help bring forth perspectives and recommendations capable of strengthening intellectual property governance, supporting cross-industry innovation, and delivering added value for society and the economy.
