Amy Kapczynski
Professor of Law and Faculty Director, Global Health Justice Partnership
Amy Kapczynski is a Professor of Law at Yale Law School, Faculty Co-Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership, and Faculty Co-Director of the Collaboration for Research Integrity and Transparency. She is also Faculty Co-Director of the Law and Political Economy Project and cofounder of the Law and Political Economy blog. Her areas of research include information policy, intellectual property law, international law, and global health.
FULL BIOGRAPHY
Contact Information
- Room L25
- 203-432-8005
- amy.kapczynski@yale.edu
Faculty Assistant
Rosanna Gonsiewski
- 337
- 203-436-8117
- rosanna.gonsiewski@yale.edu
Education & Curriculum Vitae
J.D., Yale Law School, 2003
M.A., Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, 1998
M. Phil., University of Cambridge, 1997
A.B., Princeton University, 1996
Courses Taught
- International Intellectual Property Law
- Law and Social Movements
- Property
- Global Health and Justice Practicum
- Intellectual Property: The Law of Scientific and Cultural Production
Amy Kapczynski is a Professor of Law at Yale Law School, Faculty Co-Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership, and Faculty Co-Director of the Collaboration for Research Integrity and Transparency. She is also Faculty Co-Director of the Law and Political Economy Project and cofounder of the Law and Political Economy blog. She joined the Yale Law faculty in January 2012. Her areas of research include information policy, intellectual property law, international law, and global health. Prior to coming to Yale, she taught at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. She also served as a law clerk to Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Stephen G. Breyer at the U.S. Supreme Court, and to Judge Guido Calabresi on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She received her A.B. from Princeton University, M. Phil. from Cambridge University, M.A. from Queen Mary and Westfield College at University of London, and J.D. from Yale Law School.
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Patent fight pits rich against poor in vaccine race
Politico
Professor of Law and Faculty Co-Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership Amy Kapcynski ’03 is quoted in Politico about global access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Team from Yale and Columbia Launch Website Mapping New Politics of Care
An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Columbia and Yale unveiled an interactive map on October 28, 2020 that guides policymakers and the public in deploying health care workers to communities most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
This Supreme Court Was Designed to Kill Climate Policies
The New Republic
Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence Samuel Moyn and Professor of Law Amy Kapczynski ’03 are quoted in the New Republic about the Supreme Court and climate change.
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
Remdesivir Could Be in Short Supply. Here’s a Fix. — A Commentary by Amy Kapczynski ’03 et al.
The New York Times
Amy Kapczynski is a Professor of Law at Yale Law School and Faculty Co-Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership. practice at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
An Epidemiologist’s Lessons From the ACT UP Era, for Today’s Protesters
New York Magazine
Associate Professor (Adjunct) of Law and Co-Director, Global Health Justice Partnership (GHJP) Gregg Gonsalves was interviewed by New York magazine about recent protests and the coronavirus. YLS professor and co-director of the GHJP Amy Kapczynski ’03 is mentioned.
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
YLS Community Shares Expertise on COVID-19
Members of the Yale Law School community are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, offering expertise in their respective fields from health care to national security to the economy.
Monday, April 27, 2020
The New Politics of Care — A Commentary by Amy Kapczynski ’03 and Gregg Gonsalves
Boston Review
Amy Kapczynski ’03 is Professor of Law at Yale Law School and Faculty Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership. Gregg Gonsalves is an Associate Professor (Adjunct) of Law at Yale Law School and Faculty Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership.
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
International politics is making it harder to make a coronavirus vaccine
The Washington Post
Professor of Law and Faculty Co-Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership Amy Kapcynski ’03 took part in a Washington Post Q&A about the progress in finding a vaccine for COVID-19.
Monday, March 30, 2020
We Need a Public Health New Deal: Neoliberal Austerity & Private Healthcare Worsened U.S. Pandemic
Democracy Now!
Professor of Law Amy Kapczynski ’03 and YLS associate professor (adjunct) Gregg Gonsalves were interviewed by Democracy Now! about public health policy in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
Friday, March 27, 2020
Markets v. Lives — A Commentary by Amy Kapczynski ’03 and Gregg Gonsalves
Boston Review
Amy Kapczynski ’03 is Professor of Law at Yale Law School and Faculty Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership. Gregg Gonsalves is an Associate Professor (Adjunct) of Law at Yale Law School and Faculty Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership.
Thursday, March 26, 2020
To Help Develop The Safest, Most Effective Coronavirus Tests, Treatments, And Vaccines, Ensure Public Access To Clinical Research Data — A Commentary by Amy Kapczynski ’03 et al.
Health Affairs
Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership Amy Kapczynski ’03 and colleagues have written a commentary for the Health Affairs blog urging public access to clinical research data during the coronavirus pandemic.
Friday, March 20, 2020
GHJP Faculty Respond to Coronavirus in Virtual Town Hall
WATCH: GHJP faculty participated in a Yale University virtual town hall answering questions from the public on the COVID-19 pandemic, including Professor Amy Kapczynski ’03 and epidemiologist Gregg Gonsalves. The experts gathered via videoconferencing to address questions about disease symptoms; worst-case scenarios; protecting yourself and your family; coping with changing routines; legal rights; and Yale’s and New Haven’s responses to COVID-19.
Thursday, March 19, 2020
What the Ebola Crisis Can Teach Us About Quarantines
The New York Times
Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership Amy Kapczynski ’03 and William O. Douglas Clinical Professor of Law Michael Wishnie ’93 are quoted in the New York Times about quarantine procedures in Connecticut during the Ebola scare in 2014.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Will The Coronavirus Push Us From Cruelty To A ‘Politics Of Care’?
The Appeal
An article by Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership Amy Kapczynski ’03 and Gregg Gonsalves, an Associate Professor (Adjunct) of Law at Yale Law School and Faculty Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership, is the subject of a story in The Appeal about the coronavirus pandemic.
Friday, March 13, 2020
Alone Against the Virus — A Commentary by Amy Kapczynski ’03 and Gregg Gonsalves
Boston Review
Amy Kapczynski ’03 is Professor of Law at Yale Law School and Faculty Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership. Gregg Gonsalves is an Associate Professor (Adjunct) of Law at Yale Law School and Faculty Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership.
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Five ways public health officials should respond to coronavirus — A Commentary by Amy Kapczynski ’03 et al.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Amy Kapczynski ’03 is Professor of Law at Yale Law School and Faculty Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership. Scott Burris ’87 is a professor of law and the director of the Center for Public Health Law Research at Temple Law School. Albert Ko is a professor of epidemiology and medicine at Yale Medical School.
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
President Trump ‘strongly considering’ closing border as coronavirus spreads
Associated Press
Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership Amy Kapczynski ’03 is quoted by the Associated Press about the coronavirus.
Monday, March 2, 2020
Public Health and Law Experts Issue Guidelines for U.S. Response to Coronavirus Transmission
Over 800 public health and legal experts and organizations have signed an open letter to government officials on achieving a fair and effective COVID-19 response.
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Life under quarantine: Civil rights activists criticize ‘unprecedented’ coronavirus lockdowns
CNBC
Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership Amy Kapczynski ’03 is quoted in a CNBC story about quarantines for patients suspected of having the coronavirus.
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Free Speech, Incorporated — A Commentary by Amy Kapczynski ’03
Boston Review
Amy Kapczynski ’03 is a Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Canada Opens the Door to Public Scrutiny of Clinical Drug Trials
Undark
Scholarship by Professor of Law Amy Kapczynski ’03 and Jeannie Kim ’18 is cited in an Undark story on public access to research results on new drugs and treatments.
Monday, April 29, 2019
New Law and Political Economy Project Launched
A collaboration of law faculty across several law schools announced a new initiative, the Law and Political Economy (LPE) Project.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
GHJP Joins PrEP4All in Calling on CDC To Use Its Patents for PrEP
The Yale Global Health Justice Partnership (GHJP) joined the PrEP4All Collaboration (PrEP4All) in calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to use its patents on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to promote universal access to PrEP within the United States.
Saturday, March 16, 2019
Trump Wants to Eliminate H.I.V. But Some of His Policies Do the Opposite
The New York Times
An editorial references research by Professor of Law Amy Kapczynski ’03 and Associate Professor (Adjunct) Gregg Gonsalves.
Friday, March 8, 2019
Professor Kapczynski Testifies in D.C. on Drug Prices
Professor Amy Kapczynski ’03 testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Health Subcommittee on March 7, 2019 in Washington, D.C. The hearing was titled “Promoting Competition to Lower Medicare Drug Prices.”
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
There is no liberal case for Kavanaugh—A Commentary by David Singh Grewal ’02, Amy Kapczynski ’03, and Issa Kohler-Hausmann ’08
Los Angeles Times
David Singh Grewal ’02 is a Professor of Law, Amy Kapczynski ’03 is a Professor of Law, and Issa Kohler-Hausmann ’08 is an Associate Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
How the Government Can Lower Drug Prices
The New York Times
Scholarship by Professor of Law Amy Kapczynski ’03, Hannah Brennan ’13, Christine Monahan ’16, and Zain Rizvi ’17 is cited in a commentary about ways the federal government could curb rising drug prices.
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
GHJP Works to Address the Skyrocketing Cost of Medicines
As Yale Law School’s Global Health Justice Partnership works to reform prescription drug pricing, its ideas are having a national impact.
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Three things Trump can do to bring drug prices ‘way down’—A Commentary by Amy Kapczynski ’03 and Aaron S. Kesselheim
The Washington Post
Amy Kapczynski is a Professor of Law at Yale Law School, Faculty Co-Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership, and Faculty Co-Director of the Collaboration for Research Integrity and Transparency. Aaron Kesselheim is an Irving S. Ribicoff Visiting Associate Professor of Law at Yale Law School and a Distinguished Visitor at the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy.
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
GHJP Closes Two-Year FOIA Case Against Drug Manufacturer
The Global Health Justice Partnership (GHJP) at Yale Law School and the Yale School of Public Health ended a two-year Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case, winning an important victory for clinical research transparency.
Thursday, May 12, 2016
A simple way for the government to curb inflated drug prices—A Commentary by Amy Kapczynski ’03, Zain Rizvi ’17, and Aaron Kesselheim
The Washington Post
Zain Rizvi ’17 is a student at Yale Law School; Amy Kapczynski ’03 is a Professor of Law at Yale Law School and co-director of Yale’s Global Health Justice Partnership; Aaron Kesselheim is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a faculty member at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
$3 Million Grant Given to Launch Health Data Initiative
The Collaboration for Research Integrity and Transparency (CRIT) at Yale University, a new initiative launching in July 2016, received a $3 million grant from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation (LJAF) to promote open access to high-quality data in health.
Monday, January 11, 2016
Resist Pressure at Any Price—A Commentary by David Singh Grewal ’02 and Amy Kapczynski ’03
Business Today
David Singh Grewal ’02 is an Associate Professor of Law at Yale Law School and Amy Kapczynski ’03 is a Professor of Law and Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership at Yale Law School.
Saturday, December 5, 2015
The Unfair Treatment of Ebola Workers
The New York Times
A report authored by the Global Health Justice Partnership and the American Civil Liberties Union about individuals quarantined in the U.S. in response to the 2014-15 Ebola epidemic is cited in an editorial.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Yale–ACLU Report Questions Ebola Quarantines
A report released today examining the U.S. response to the 2014–2015 Ebola epidemic warns against politically motivated and scientifically unwarranted quarantines, which the report found violated individuals’ rights and hampered efforts to fight the disease by discouraging American doctors and nurses from going abroad.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Debate on Quarantine Persists as Ebola Outbreak Subsides
The New York Times
Lecturer in Law and co-director of the Global Health Justice Partnership Gregg Gonsalves is mentioned in an article about a report authored by GHJP and the American Civil Liberties Union on the number of individuals quarantined in the U.S. in response to the 2014-15 Ebola epidemic.
Monday, June 29, 2015
FDA is Sued by Advocacy Groups That Want Gilead Hepatitis C Trial Data
The Wall Street Journal/Pharmalot
Professor of Law and Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership Amy Kapczynski ’03 and Lecturer in Law and Co-Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership Gregg Gonsalves are quoted in an article about a lawsuit filed by the GHJP against the FDA, claiming the agency failed to release clinical trial data for Gilead Sciences' hepatitis C treatments on a timely basis.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
MFIA Clinic Files Suit Seeking Access to Hepatitis C Drug Data
Treatment Action Group and the Global Health Justice Partnership have filed a federal lawsuit for access to the information that Gilead Sciences submitted to the FDA on two new—and extremely expensive—hepatitis C drugs, Sovaldi and Harvoni.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
No Fast Track for Unfair Trade Deals—A Commentary by Amy Kapczynski ’03 and Judith Resnik
The Huffington Post
Amy Kapczynski ’03 is an Associate Professor of Law at Yale Law School and director of the Global Health Justice Partnership and Judith Resnik is the Arthur Liman Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
The Trans-Pacific Partnership — Is It Bad for Your Health?—A Commentary by Amy Kapczynski ’03
The New England Journal of Medicine
Amy Kapczynski ’03 is an Associate Professor of Law at Yale Law School and director of the Global Health Justice Partnership.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
From Farm to Fork to Landfill — Yale Law School Debuts Food Law and Policy Course
Yale Law School launches its first ever food law and policy class in response to strong student interest in this growing area of law.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
A New Meaning of the Light Bulb—A Commentary by Ian Ayres ’86 and Amy Kapczynski ’03
Forbes
Ian Ayres ’86 is the William K. Townsend Professor of Law at Yale Law School and Amy Kapczynski ’03 is an Associate Professor of Law at Yale Law School and director of the Global Health Justice Partnership.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Necessity’s Child—A Commentary by Ian Ayres ’86 and Amy Kapczynski ’03
Forbes
Ian Ayres ’86 is the William K. Townsend Professor of Law at Yale Law School and Amy Kapczynski ’03 is an Associate Professor of Law at Yale Law School and director of the Global Health Justice Partnership.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Let India Make Cheap Drugs—A Commentary by David Singh Grewal ’02 and Amy Kapczynski ’03
The New York Times
David Singh Grewal ’02 is an Associate Professor of Law at Yale Law School and Amy Kapczynski ’03 is an Associate Professor of Law at Yale Law School and director of the Global Health Justice Partnership.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Yale Law School to Hold Conference on First Amendment in the Shadow of Public Health
The Public Health in the Shadow of the First Amendment Conference will take place at Yale Law School on October 17 and 18.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Working Across Borders: The Yale Global Health Justice Partnership
It’s a cold day in December, and nearly two dozen student and post-graduate fellows from six of Yale University’s professional schools have gathered at the Law School for a colloquium lunch with faculty members to discuss the work of global health justice, an emerging discipline located at the intersection of law, public health, and policy advocacy. The event is part of the programming and coursework organized by the Yale Global Health Justice Partnership (GHJP), a new collaborative effort between Yale Law School and the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH).
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Engineered in India—Patent Law 2.0—A Commentary by Amy Kapczynski ’03
The New England Journal of Medicine
Amy Kapczynski ’03 is a Professor of Law and Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership at Yale Law School.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Amy Kapczynski ’03 to Join Law School Faculty in January as Associate Professor of Law
Amy Kapczynski ’03 has been appointed an associate professor of law at Yale Law School.
Monday, March 21, 2011
A Conversation with Rachel Maddow March 28, Open to Yale Community
MSNBC TV host Rachel Maddow will be at Yale Law School on March 28 for a Q&A with Visiting Associate Professor Amy Kapczynski ’03.
PUBLISHED ARTICLES
The Lochnerized First Amendment and the FDA: Toward a More Democratic Political Economy, Columbia Law Review, Vol. 118, no. 7
Dangerous Times: The FDA’s Role in Information Production, Past and Future, 102 Minn. L. Rev. 2357 (2018)
The Right to Medicines in an Age of Neoliberalism, Humanity Journal, April 26, 2019
Order without Intellectual Property Law: Open Science in Influenza, Cornell Law Review, Vol. 102, Issue 6
Promotion of Drugs for Off-label Uses: The US Food and Drug Administration at a Crossroads, JAMA Internal Medicine, February 2017 (with Jeanie Kim)
A Prescription for Excessive Drug Pricing: Leveraging Government Patent Use for Health, Yale Journal of Law & Technology, Vol. 18 (with Hannah Brennan, Christine H. Monahan, and Zain Rizvi)
‘Government Patent Use’: A Legal Approach To Reducing Drug Spending’, Health Affairs, Mar. 2 2016
Innovation Sticks: The Limited Case for Penalizing Failures to Innovate, 81 Chi. L. Rev. 1781 (2015) (with Ian Ayres)
The Trans-Pacific Partnership — Is it Bad for Your Health?, New England Journal of Medicine (July 16, 2015)
Free Speech and Pharmaceutical Regulation: Fishy Business, JAMA Internal Medicine (March 2016)
Resist Pressure at Any Price, Business Today (India), Jan. 17, 2016 (with David Grewal)
Engineered in India: Patent Law 2.0, New Eng. J. Med. (July 17, 2013).
The Continuum of Excludability and the Limits of Patents, 120 Yale L. J. 1900 (2013) (with Talha Syed)
Polymorphs and Prodrugs and Salts (Oh My!): An Empirical Analysis of ‘‘Secondary’’ Pharmaceutical Patents, 7 PLoS e49470 (Dec. 2012) (with Bhaven Sampat and Chan Park)
The Cost of Price: Why and How to Get Beyond Intellectual Property Internalism, 59 UCLA L. Rev. 970 (2012)
“Access to Knowledge: A Conceptual Genealogy,” in Access to Knowledge in the Age ofIntellectual Property (Zone Press 2010, Gaëlle Krikorian and Amy Kapczynski, eds.)
Harmonization and its Discontents: A Case Study of TRIPS Implementation in India’s Pharmaceutical Sector, 97 Calif. L. Rev. 1571 (2009)
The Access to Knowledge Mobilization and the New Politics of Intellectual Property, 117 Yale L. J. 804 (2008)
Addressing Global Health Inequities: An Open Licensing Approach for University Innovations, 20 Berkeley Tech. L.J. 1031 (2005) (with Samantha Chaifetz, Zachary Katz, & Yochai Benkler)
Historicism, Progress, and the Redemptive Constitution, 26 Cardozo L. Rev. 1041 (2005)
EDITED BOOKS
Access to Knowledge in the Age of Intellectual Property (Zone Press 2010, Gaëlle Krikorian and Amy Kapczynski, eds.)
SELECTED COMMENTARIES AND ESSAYS
There is no liberal case for Brett Kavanaugh, LA Times, Aug. 1, 2018 (with David Grewal and Issa Kohler-Hausmann)
Clinical Trial Transparency: The FDA Should and Can Do More, Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 45 S2, pp. 33-38, Jan. 10, 2018 (with Jeanie Kim)
Pediatric Exclusivity and Regulatory Authority, Implications of Amgen v HHS, JAMA 2018; 319(1): 21–22 (with Jeanie Kim and Joseph Ross)
Legal Challenges to State Drug Pricing Laws, JAMA, 2018; 319(9):865–866 (with Theodore Lee and Aaron Kesselheim)
Three Things Trump Can Do to Bring Drug Prices “Way Down.” Wash. Post, Nov. 21, 2017 (with Aaron Kesselheim)
Promotion of Drugs for Off-Label Uses: The US Food and Drug Administration at a Crossroads, JAMA Internal Medicine, Feb. 2017 (with Jeanie Kim)
Amy Kapczynski, Bhaven N. Sampat, and Kenneth C. Shadlen, The TPP and Drug Prices: Not a Settled Matter, Foreign Affairs, Oct. 28, 2016
The Story of the TAC Case: The Potential and Limits of Socio-Economic Rights Litigation in South Africa, in Human Rights Advocacy Stories (Foundation Press 2009) (with Jonathan Berger)
Commentary: Innovation Policy for a New Era, 37 J. of Law, Medicine & Ethics 264 (June 2009)
Is Bayh-Dole Good for Developing Countries? Lessons from the US Experience, 6 Plos Biology e262 (Oct. 1, 2008) (with Anthony D. So, Bhaven N. Sampat, Arti K. Rai, Robert Cook-Deegan, Jerome H. Reichman, and Robert Weissman)
The Access to Knowledge Mobilization and the New Politics of Intellectual Property, 117 Yale L.J. Pocket Part 262 (2008)
Linking Ideas to Outcomes: A Response, 117 Yale L.J. Pocket Part 289 (2008)