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Patent law is considered to be an objective law, dealing with the objective subject matter of the ‘technical arts’. Yet, empirical studies show that patenting rates around the world are gendered. This article analyses the roots of the gender patent gap, and how this correlates to the invention and innovation processes. It shows that the gendered nature of the patent-regulated knowledge governance system forces women into traditionally male spaces and fields in order to partake in the extant patent game. Yet, when they enter those spaces and fields, they often find themselves unwelcome and subject to institutional, structural or organizational biases, which impinge upon their ability to invent, patent and commercialize.

This article re-frames the discourse around women inventors. It argues that we have to stop focusing on the ‘women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)’ narrative, because it is a distraction from the underlying problem that the Western knowledge governance system reflects the hegemonic powers at play. Instead, we need to re-think the knowledge governance system and the ecosystem it creates, in order to ensure egalitarian knowledge production and protection.

The evolution of video game technology is outpacing intellectual property law. As augmented realities and online gaming environments continue to collapse the distinction between real and virtual worlds, they have rendered traditional frameworks for copyright law unworkable. Gaming environments were traditionally circumscribed by the magic circle. Video games now interact with the outside world in a way that obscures the divide between the public domain and the private. Such disruption undermines copyright's core purpose of balancing interests, and transforms issues such as implied license, fair dealing, and moral rights into enigmas. This article proposes a framework that redraws the magic circle using the consent-based customs of gaming communities. Only those who play at the vanguard have the expertise to reconcile copyright with modern video games without constraining creativity or innovation. Deferring to community norms restores compatibility between copyright and unusual canvasses while preserving the integrity of these interesting works.