Professor Duncan Matthews, BSc (Hons), MA (Warwick), LLM (Exeter), PhD (London)

Professor of Intellectual Property Law

Email: d.n.matthews@qmul.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7882 8074
Room Number: Lincoln's Inn Fields
Website: www.ccls.qmul.ac.uk

Profile
Teaching
Research
Publications
Supervision
Public Engagement

Profile

Duncan Matthews holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He is Director of Research in the Centre for Commercial Law Studies (CCLS), Queen Mary University of London, a member of the Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute (QMIPRI), a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) and a Research Affiliate of CeBIL – Center for Advanced Studies in Bioscience Innovation Law at the University of Copenhagen.

He has acted as an advisor to the European Patent Office (EPO), the European Commission, the European Parliament, the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

He has been a Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University, (Canberra, ACT) and the University of Verona (Italy), teaches on the WIPO LLM Programme at the Jagiellonian University (Poland) and has taught on the WIPO Summer Schools at Charles University (Czech Republic) and Huazhong University of Science & Technology (People’s Republic of China). He has also taught at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy), Humboldt University of Berlin and the University of Freiburg (both Germany), Renmin University of China, the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, and Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (all People’s Republic of China). He has delivered public lectures at the University of Oxford (United Kingdom), São Paulo University (Brazil), the University of the West Indies (Mona Campus, Jamaica), and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University (France).

He is the author of Globalising Intellectual Property Rights: The TRIPS Agreement (Routledge, 2002), Intellectual Property, Human Rights and Development (Edward Elgar, 2011), and is co-editor the Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and the Life Sciences (Edward Elgar, 2017) and European Patent Law: The Unified Patent Court and the European Patent Convention (De Gruyter, 2023).

He teaches European and international patent law to postgraduate law students, specialising in the Unified Patent Court (UPC), the patent provisions of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), and intellectual property and the life sciences.

He is currently the Principal Investigator for British Academy research projects on Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic for IP Licensing Practices in Vaccine Production and The Patent Governance of Agricultural Genome Editing in the United Kingdom, the European Union and Ukraine: Implications for Global Food Security and Sustainability, as well as a project for the WIPO Judicial Institute on Comparative Approaches to Judicial Specialization in Intellectual Property.

He is interviewed regularly by international media outlets including the Financial Times, The Wire, Fortune and Pharma Technology Focus.

Postgraduate Teaching

Research

Duncan Matthews is currently the Principal Investigator and award holder of British Academy research grants on Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic for IP Licensing Practices in Vaccine Production in collaboration with co-researchers Professor Ken Shadlen (Department of International Development, London School of Economics and Political Science), Dr. Żaneta Zemła-Pacud (Institute of Law Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences), Professor Esther van Zimmeren (Faculty of Law and GOVTRUST Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp) and Professor Timo Minssen (Centre for Advanced Studies in Biomedical Innovation Law, CeBIL, University of Copenhagen), and The patent governance of agricultural genome editing in the United Kingdom, the European Union and Ukraine: implications for global food security and sustainability in collaboration with Dr Hanna Ostapenko (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv).

Recently he has been leading an international team of researchers investigating the role of patents and licences for the governance of human genome editing with Professor Abbe Brown (University of Aberdeen), Dr Emanuela Gambini (Queen Mary University of London), Professor Timo Minssen (University of Copenhagen), Dr Ana Nordberg (Lund University), Professor Jacob S. Sherkow (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Dr Jakob Wested (University of Copenhagen), Professor Esther van Zimmeren (University of Antwerp) and Dr Aisling McMahon (National University of Ireland, Maynooth). The research team provided expertise to the WHO International Advisory Committee on the Governance of Human Genome Editing and was acknowledged in the WHO Expert Advisory Committees’ final reports in July 2021. The published response to the WHO Expert Advisory Committee’s final reports made by the research team lead by Professor Matthews is available on SSRN.

Publications

Achieving a Fair and Equitable Balance: The Role of Patents in the Governance and Oversight of Human Germline Genome Editing [2025] in Bonadio, E. and Shemtov, N., (eds.), A Research Agenda for Patent Law, Edward Elgar (forthcoming).
The European Medicines Agency’s Path to Greater Access to Pharmaceutical Regulatory Data: Balancing Intellectual Property Rights and the Right to Privacy [2024] Duncan Matthews, Gabriela Lenarczyk and Żaneta Zemła-Pacud in Gustavo Ghidini, Hans Ullrich and Peter Drahos (eds.), Kritika: Essays in Intellectual Property Volume 6, Edward Elgar, pages 164-192.
Proportionality and patent injunctions [2023] Maciej Padamczyk and Duncan Matthews in European Patent Law: The Unified Patent Court and the European Patent Convention [2023] Duncan Matthews and Paul Torremans (eds.) De Gruyter Verlag, pages 79-94.
European Patent Law: The Unified Patent Court and the European Patent Convention [2023] Duncan Matthews and Paul Torremans (eds.) De Gruyter Verlag, pages I-XXXII and 1-558.
The War in Ukraine Raises Questions About Patents for Secret Inventions [2023] Duncan Matthews and Hanna Ostapenko, GRUR International, Volume 72, Issue 7, July 2023, pages 665–669.
Using Compulsory Licences as a Governance Tool: The Need for Greater Effectiveness and Policy Coherence [2023], Duncan Matthews, Esther van Zimmeren and Timo Minssen in Susy Frankel, Margaret Chon, Graeme B. Dinwoodie, Barbara Lauriat and Jens Schovsbo (eds.), Improving Intellectual Property: A Global Project, Edward Elgar, pages 61-74.
Reappraising the relationship between intellectual property rights and human rights: a COVID-19 pandemic response [2022] Duncan Matthews, in Gustavo Ghidini and Valeria Falce (eds.) Reforming Intellectual Property, Edward Elgar, pages 152-166.
Intellectual Property Rights [2022] in Christina Binder, Manfred Nowak, Jane A. Hofbauer, Philipp Janig (eds.) Elgar Encyclopedia of Human Rights, Edward Elgar, pages 66-77.
Balancing Innovation, ‘Ordre Public’ and Morality in Human Germline Editing: A Call for More Nuanced Approaches in Patent Law [2022], Duncan Matthews, Timo Minssen and Ana Nordberg, European Journal of Health Law, Vol. 29, pages 562-588.
The Covid-19 Pandemic: Lessons for the European Patent System [2022] Duncan Matthews, Queen Mary Law Research Paper No. 377/2022.
Access to CRISPR Genome Editing Technologies: Patents, Human Rights and the Public Interest [2021] in Carlos M Correa and Reto M Hilty (eds.) Access to Medicines and Vaccines: Implementing Flexibilities Under Intellectual Property Law, Springer Nature, pages 105-133, eBook ISBN 978-3-030-83114-1, Print ISBN 978-3-030-83113-4.
The Role of Patents and Licensing in the Governance of Human Genome Editing: A White Paper [2021] co-authored with Abbe Brown, Emanuela Gambini, Timo Minssen, Ana Nordberg, Jacob S. Sherkow, Jakob Wested, Esther van Zimmeren and Aisling McMahon, Queen Mary Law Research Paper No. 364/2021
Access to CRISPR Genome Editing Technologies: Patents, Human Rights and the Public Interest [2020] Queen Mary Law Research Paper No. 332/2020
‘Intellectual Property Courts in China’, [2019] in Competition Law and Intellectual Property in China and the ASEAN, Spyros Maniatis, Ioannis Kokkoris and Wang Xiaoye (Editors), Oxford University Press, pp. 76-100, ISBN 978 -0-19-879352-6.
‘Exclusivity for Biologics’ in Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and the Life Sciences [2017] Duncan Matthews and Herbert Zech (Editors), Edward Elgar, pp. 104-117, ISBN 978 178347 944
‘Patenting Strategies and Competition Law in the Pharmaceutical Sector: Implications for Access to Medicines’ [2016] European Review of Intellectual Property, Vol. 38, Issue 11, pp. 661-667, ISSN: 0142-0461
'The Right to Health and Patents' [2015] Christoph Geiger (Editor) Research Handbook on Human Rights and Intellectual Property, Edward Elgar, pp. 496-512, ISBN 9781783472413
When Framing Meets Law: Using Human Rights as a Practical Instrument to Facilitate Access to Medicines in Developing Countries [2014] in Gustavo Ghidini, Rudolph J.R. Peritz and Marco Ricolfi (Editors) TRIPS and Developing Countries: Towards a New IP World Order?, Edward Elgar, pp. 12-38, ISBN 9781849804851
The Rise and Fall of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA): Lessons for the European Union [2013] (Co-author with P. Žikovská) IIC - International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law: Vol. 44, Issue 6, pages 626-655, ISSN 0018-9855
Negotiating the IP Chapter of an EU–US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: Let’s Not Repeat Past Mistakes [2013] IIC - International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law: Vol. 44, Issue 5, pages 491-493, ISSN 0018-9855
Counterfeiting and Public Heath [2012] in C. Geiger (Editor) Criminal Enforcement of Intellectual Property: A Handbook of Contemporary Research, Edward Elgar, pp. 42-58, ISBN: 9781849801461
NGO Coalitions and the Global Access to Medicines Campaign [2012] in J. Howell (Editor) Global Matters for Non-Governmental Public Action, Palgrave, pp. 66-92, ISBN: 9780230290358
The Doha Declaration Ten Years on and Its Impact on Access to Medicines and the Right to Health (Co-author with C. Correa) [2011] New York: United Nations Development Programme
When Framing Meets Law: Using human rights as a practical instrument to facilitate access to medicines in developing countries [2011], The WIPO Journal, Vol. 3, Issue 1, pages 113-127, ISSN: 2041-2029
Intellectual Property, Human Rights and Development, The Role of NGOs and Social Movements, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2011, 273, ISBN 9781 84720 785 2
Patents in the Global Economy [2011] , report to the UK Government’s Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property Policy (SABIP)
The Lisbon Treaty, Trade Agreements and the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights [2010], European Intellectual Property Review, Vol. 32, Issue 3, pp. 104-112, ISSN: 0142-0461
Intellectual Property Rights, Human Rights and the Right to Health [2009] in W. Grosheide (Editor) Intellectual Property Rights and Human Rights: A Paradox, ISBN: 9781848444478
The Fight Against Counterfeiting and Piracy in the Bilateral Trade Agreements of the EU [2008] European Parliament Briefing Paper
Intellectual Property Rights and Multilateral Institutions (Co-author with V. Munoz-Tellez) in [2008] V. Desai and R. Potter (Editors) The Companion to Development Studies, 2nd Edition, London: Hodder Arnold, 563-567, ISBN: 0340889144.
The Role of International NGOs in the Intellectual Property Policy-Making and Norm-Setting Activities of Multilateral Institutions [2007] 82,3 Chicago-Kent Law Review 1369-1386, ISSN: ISSN: 0009-3599
Lessons from Negotiating an Amendment to the TRIPS Agreement: Compulsory Licensing and Access to Medicines [2007] in G. Westkamp (ed.) Emerging Issues in Intellectual Property, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 222-249, ISBN: 978-1-84542-775-7
Parallel Trade: A User's Guide (Co-author with V. Munoz-Tellez) in [2007] MIHR/PIPRA Intellectual Property Management in Health and Agricultural Innovation: A Handbook of Best Practices 1429-1434, ISBN: 978-1-4243-2027-1
Bilateral Technical Assistance and TRIPS: the United States, Japan and the European Communities in Comparative Perspective (Co-author with V. Munoz-Tellez) [2006] 9(6) Journal of World Intellectual Property 629-653, ISSN: 1422-2213
From the August 30, 2003 WTO Decision to the December 6, 2005 Agreement on an Amendment to TRIPS: Improving Access to Medicines in Developing Countries? [2006] 10 Intellectual Property Quarterly 91-130, ISSN: 1364-906X
TRIPS Flexibilities and Access to Medicines in Developing Countries: The Problem with Technical Assistance and Free Trade Agreements [2005] 27(11) European Intellectual Property Review 420-427, ISSN: 0142-0461
Is History Repeating Itself? The Outcome of Negotiations on Access to Medicines, the HIV/AIDS Pandemic and Intellectual Property Rights in the World Trade Organisation [2004] 1 Law, Social Justice and Global Development Journal (LGD), ISSN: 1467-0437
The WTO Decision on Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPs Agreement and Public Health: A Solution to the Access to Essential Medicines Problem? [2004] 7(1) Journal of International Economic Law 73-107, ISSN: 1369-3034
A Strategic Approach to Managing Intellectual Property (Co-author with J. Pickering and J. Kirkland) in R. Blackburn (Editor), Intellectual Property and Innovation Management in Small Firms, London: Routledge, 2003, 35-54, ISBN: 0415228840
Globalising Intellectual Property Rights: The TRIPs Agreement, London: Routledge, 2002, 216, ISBN: 041522327X
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights: Will the Uruguay Round Consensus Hold?, Coventry: Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation Working Paper No. 99/02, 2002.

Other Selected Publications

Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and the Life Sciences [2017] Duncan Matthews and Herbert Zech (Editors), Edward Elgar, ISBN 978 178347 944
The Effectiveness of European Union Environmental Policy (Co-author with W. Grant and P. Newell), Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2000, 248, ISBN: 0333730666.

Supervision

Doctoral Research Student Supervision

Duncan Matthews has supervised the following doctoral research students:

Alex Magaisa - Knowledge Protection in Indigenous Communities - The case of indigenous medical knowledge systems in Zimbabwe (completed 2005).
Mukhamad-Ali Kurmanbayev - An Analysis of the Development of Copyright Law and Practices in Kazakhstan (completed 2006).
Muriel Lightbourne - The FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture: Towards Food Security, Conservation, Equity? (completed 2007, Herchel Smith scholarship).
Fazeel Najeeb – IP-Related Technical Assistance: Lessons for developing countries (completed March 2011; Commonwealth scholarship).
Jerry Hsiao – Patent Protection for Chinese Traditional Medicines in Taiwan (completed November 2009).
Claudio Chiarolla – Development Perspectives on the FAO International Treaty’s Multilateral System (completed December 2009; Herchel Smith scholarship).
Rong He – An Empirical Study on the Interaction between Patent, Innovation and Public Health: case of China (completed September 2012; Wellcome Trust scholarship).
Burcu Kilic – Boosting Pharmaceutical Innovation in the Post-TRIPS era: The Real LIfe Lessons for the Developing World (completed January 2011; Queen Mary School of Law scholarship).
Tenu Avafia – Public Health Related TRIPS Flexibilities and South-South Co-operation as Enablers of Treatment Access in Eastern and Southern Africa: Perspectives from Producing and Importing Countries (completed March 2015).
Celucolo Peter Dludlu - Comparative study of substantive patentability standards in the UK and South Africa (completed March 2014; Herchel Smith scholarship).
Vivian Mak – Analysis of DNA Patenting and its Impact on Developing Nations (completed November 2014; Queen Mary School of Law scholarship).
Marta Diaz Pozo - The Role of the Requirement of Industrial Application in Gene Patenting: Practical Implications and Potential Impact on the Progress of Innovation (completed May 2015; Herchel Smith scholarship).
Mauricio Guaragna - Stimulating Innovation in Brazil: A Study of Intellectual Property Law, Biotechnology and Open Scientific Innovation (completed December 2016).
Emanuela Gambini: Imagined Nature. Intellectual Property of Biotech Inventions (completed August 2018, Herchel Smith scholarship).
Olga Gurgula - Strategic Patenting in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Analysing the Boundaries of Legality from a Competition Law Perspective (completed December 2018; Herchel Smith scholarship).
Michaela Halpern - Arbitrating Standard Essential Patent Licensing Disputes (completed July 2021; Herchel Smith scholarship).
Maciej Padamczyk - Determining the adequate degree of legal protection for emerging biotechnologies: Developing new eligibility criteria and morality-based exclusions for patent protection of emerging biotechnologies (commenced September 2021, Herchel Smith scholarship).
Gertrud Metsa - Balancing the outcomes by applying economic decision-making theories: a study on divisional practice (commenced September 2022, Herchel Smith scholarship).
Barasha Borthakur – Building a Green Intellectual Property Regime: How Patent Law Can Faciliate Technology Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies (commenced September 2020, Herchel Smith scholarship).
Luisa Fernanda Herrera Sierra - Contract Law: Solutions to the Problems of Patent Misuse. Novel Mechanisms to Enhance Technological Transfer and Innovation (commenced September 2022).
Ozlem Corapcioglu - Evaluating the Effectiveness of Private Governance Tools in Regulating the Morality of Germline Editing Technologies: Protecting the Living through Ethical Licensing (commenced September 2024, Herchel Smith scholarship).

Public Engagement

Professor Duncan Matthews is Director of the Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute (QMIPRI).

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