Intellectual Property Law
Edinburgh Law School has a long-standing reputation for research and teaching in intellectual property (IP) law.

Dating back to the foundation of the SCRIPT Research Centre in 1998, Edinburgh Law School’s profile in the field of IP grew through the activities of the AHRC Research Centre for Studies in Intellectual Property and Technology Law (2002-2012). From 2012 to 2018, Edinburgh Law School’s IP specialists formed part of the RCUK-funded multi-institutional CREATe consortium.
Current members of the IP team offer expertise spanning copyright, designs, trade marks, IP’s relationship with innovation and creativity, IP and human rights, and IP enforcement. Engaging with diverse research methodologies - doctrinal, socio-legal, and empirical – they conduct innovative research examining topics including creative and cultural intersections, international IP, Europeanisation of IP, and IP practice and policy.
Building on this expertise, the IP team offers popular research-led teaching in IP law for both undergraduate and postgraduate students, including well-established on-campus and online nominate LLM programmes in Intellectual Property Law.
Dr Kheria and Ms Cornwell are also co-authors of a leading textbook on IP rights (Contemporary Intellectual Property: Law and Policy, Oxford University Press).
Jane Cornwell, Senior Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law
Smita Kheria, Senior Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law
Amandine Léonard, Early Career Fellow in Intellectual Property Law
Emmanuel Oke, Lecturer in International Intellectual Property Law
Gerard Porter, Lecturer in Medical Law and Ethics
Journal articles
Frand royalties: Rules v standards?
Petit, N. & Leonard, A. In: Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property, Vol. 22, No.1, 17.01.2023, p. 1-36. View article
Excessive or abusive reliance on measures, procedures and remedies under Directive 2004/48/EC—the issue of ‘trolls’ in the IP enforcement framework in light of Case C-597/19 Mircom
Leonard, Amandine. In: Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, Vol. 17, No. 4, 02.04.2022, p. 387-397. View article
Rethinking Nigerian geographical indications law
Oke, Emmanuel Kolawole. In: Journal of World Intellectual Property, Vol. 25, No. 3, 12.11.2022, p. 746-752. View chapter
Book chapters
Defining intellectual property as an investment
Oke, Emmanuel Kolawole. The Future of Intellectual Property. ed. / Daniel J. Gervais. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021. p. 81-104 (ATRIP Intellectual Property Series). View chapter
Books
Defining intellectual property as an investment
Oke, Emmanuel Kolawole. The Future of Intellectual Property. ed. / Daniel J. Gervais. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021. p. 81-104 (ATRIP Intellectual Property Series). View book
Contemporary Intellectual Property: Law and Policy.
Waelde, Charlotte; Brown, Abbe; Kheria, Smita; Cornwell, Jane. 4th ed. Oxford University Press, 2016. 1128 p. View text book
Exploring the Interface between Intellectual Property and International Investment Law: A Human Rights Perspective
Recent high profile investment tribunal claims against states challenging measures relating to IP have led to increased scrutiny and concern over the interface between IP law and international investment law. Dr Emmanuel Oke’s research critically examines the interface between these two fields from a human rights perspective, aiming to provide insights regarding the role that international human rights law can play with regard to securing the twin complementary objectives of protecting foreign investments and fostering economic development.
Copyright in the everyday lives of creative practitioners
Dr Smita Kheria’s socio-legal research evaluates the complexities of copyright in a ‘real world’ context focussing on the intersection of copyright law with the everyday lives of creative practitioners. Her work addresses fundamental policy questions: Does copyright law matter? Who does it matter to and why? Who is it resisted by and why? How can this regulatory framework remain relevant and fit for purpose in an uncertain fast-moving social, technological, and economic landscape? Recent grants that have enabled this ongoing research include two projects led by Dr Kheria through the programme of the RCUK funded CREATe centre: Individual Creators and Creators’ Organisations.
Is online streaming akin to radio, a digital download, or a derived hybrid?
Funded by the Scottish Graduate School of Arts Humanities’ Creative Economies Studentship scheme, this research addresses whether the current legal framework is fit for purpose in rewarding musicians and music creators in the changing digital music consumption landscape. Supervised by Dr Smita Kheria, Edinburgh Law School PhD candidate Desmond Agyekumhene is examining the development, role, and place of online streaming services, and related flow of streaming revenues, with the objective of evaluating if the legal framework for rights of musicians and music creators remains fit for purpose.
SCRIPT Centre
The SCRIPT Centre explores the synergetic relationship between law, technologies, commerce and society.
Visit the SCRIPT Centre website