Innovation Law and Ethics Observatory (ILEO)

In April 2024, the “Innovation Law and Ethics Observatory (ILEO) was created to establish at Luiss a research stream and an identified research structure of excellence on innovation law, with a particular emphasis on ethics and sustainability. While innovation law – and in particular Intellectual Property (IP) laws – provides a framework for innovation processes, an increasing sensitivity for ethical concerns and sustainability have led to demand that innovation respects ethical principles to balance economic with non-economic interests. Growing environmental challenges and the global imperative of sustainable development have prompted a general and wide-ranging reflection at national, regional and international levels on the effects of technology, and innovation more broadly, on present and future generations and the world we are living in.

The role of innovation law is thus to provide an adequate framework to secure economic growth while preserving the core values on which the EU has been built. To investigate the challenge of establishing this delicate balance will form the core of the Observatory’s research activity. While the emphasis of the Observatory will be on digital innovation, particularly in the online environment (such as innovation in the area of artificial intelligence or platform regulations), as its legal framework is still emerging, ample space will be provided for research, as part of a larger reflection, in more traditional areas of the knowledge economy that are also confronted with imperatives of ethical and sustainable innovation. The outputs will be geared towards providing scientific activities (publications offline and online, organization of lectures, conferences, workshops) but also expertise and policy guidance for European and international policy makers.

Official launch of ILEO by the Rector Magnificus Paolo Boccardelli

Official launch of ILEO by its Director Christophe Geiger

Members of ILEO (Francesca Di Lazzaro, Vincenzo Iaia, Ludovico Bossi) during the official launch of ILEO

Christophe Geiger, Director of ILEO, with Anna Zielkiewicz, member of ILEO, and Antonio Punzi, Head of the Law Department of Luiss