Bassem Awad
Dr. Bassem Awad is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Area of Concentration in Intellectual Property, Information and Technology (IPIT) Law at the Faculty of Law. He is the Founder and Faculty Director of the Western Intellectual Property and Innovation Legal Clinic (WIPILC). Dr. Awad also serves as a visiting Professor at the Academy of the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva. Since 2021, he has been nominated as the Chair and Coordinator of the African Union ASRIC Taskforce on Intellectual Property.
Prior to joining Western, Dr. Awad was the Deputy Director of Intellectual Property and Innovation at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). He previously served for several years as a Judge and Head of Court at the Appeal Courts of Egypt and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
Dr. Awad has extensive experience in intellectual property, technology law, and innovation policies. His primary research interests are in the governance of intellectual property and innovation, with a focus on the impact of frontier technologies - including artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data - on intellectual property and privacy norms. Dr. Awad research projects include climate justice and intellectual property, legal frameworks of collaborative innovation (e.g. patent pledges, pools), intellectual property in preferential trade agreements, entrepreneurship, and the strategic management and commercialization of intellectual property assets.
Dr. Awad earned his Ph.D. and LL.M degrees in Law from the University of Montpellier and the Sorbonne University in France. He completed his postdoctoral research at the Faculty of Law at University of Western Ontario. He has taught and worked in both common and civil law systems and has led research projects for international and regional organizations across Africa, Middle East, Europe and Canada. He is a member of the International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property (ATRIP) and serves on the Editorial Committee of several academic journals.
At Western Law, Dr. Awad teaches courses on Intellectual Property Law, International Intellectual Property, and Law and Disruptive Technologies. Dr. Awad has designed and taught multiple distance learning and professional training programs around the world.
Academic Degrees:
PhD (University of Montpellier), LLM (Sorbonne University), LLB (Alexandria University)
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| Phone: | 519-661-2111 x80089 |
| Office: | LB 120C |
Research Highlights
Books authored and edited
- Bassem Awad, Intellectual Property for Diplomats and Trade Officials, World Intellectual Property Organization (2023).
- Bassem Awad, Intellectual Property Enforcement for the Judiciary, World Intellectual Property Organization (2019).
- NAFTA 2.0 and Intellectual Property Rights: Insights on Developing Canada’s Knowledge Economy in Bassem Awad (eds), (2017) CIGI Publications.
Book Chapters
- Bassem Awad, “Climate justice and green patents: a new social contract for a sustainable development in Africa” in Ruth Okediji (ed.) Intellectual Property in Africa (forthcoming 2025).
- Bassem Awad, “Artificial Intelligence generated inventions and the quest for normative framework” in Graham J. Reynolds, Alexandra Mogyoros and Teshager Dagne, eds., Intellectual Property Futures: Exploring the Global Landscape of IP Law and Policy, University of Ottawa Press, Law, Technology and Media (2025).
- Bassem Awad, “Patent Pledges in Green Technology” in Jorge L Contreras & Meredith Jacob, eds, Patent Pledges: Global Perspectives on Patent Law’s Private Ordering Frontier (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017), pp. 82-101.
- Bassem Awad, “Strategy for green energy technologies innovation” in Jeremy de Beer, Chris Armstrong, Chidi Oguamanam & Tobias Schonwetter (eds.), Innovation and intellectual property: collaborative dynamics in Africa (University of Cape Town (UCT) Press, 2013), pp. 273-288.
Samples of Articles in scholarly refereed journals
- Bassem Awad, “If Not Now, When? Access to COVID-19 Treatment and Patent Law” (2022) 11:1 WIPO-WTO Colloquium Papers (WTO Publications, 2022), 86.
- Bassem Awad and Marsha Cadogan, “The future of Geographical Indications Protection under the CETA”, (2017) CIGI Papers Series.
- Bassem Awad, “Global Patent Pledges: A collaborative Mechanism for Climate Change Technology” (2015) No. 81 CIGI Papers.
- Bassem Awad, “Copyright flexibilities in the Arab world”, (2012) WIPO-WTO Publications at 41-55.
Technical Reports, Policy Briefs, and Commentaries
- Oonagh E Fitzgerald, Bassem Awad, Marsha Cadogan & Sam Anissimov, “Thinking Through Intellectual Property Issues: Charting a Path Forward” (2017) Centre for International Governance Innovation Conference Report.
- Oonagh E Fitzgerald, Bassem Awad & Marsha Cadogan, “Thinking Through Intellectual Property Issues: Improving Ontario’s Innovation Performance” (2016) Centre for International Governance Innovation Conference Report.
- Bassem Awad, “How the Marrakesh Treaty makes the Intellectual Property system more inclusive” (29 September 2016), online: Open Canada .
- Yamri Taddese, “IP into the Future” (6 June 2016), online: Canadian Lawyer Magazine [Interview with Bassem Awad].
- Bassem Awad, “Technology Mechanisms at Bonn Climate Change Conference” (17 June 2015), online: Centre for International Governance Innovation.
- Oonagh E Fitzgerald & Bassem Awad et al, “Submission to Ontario’s Climate Change Discussion Paper 2015” (2015) Centre for International Governance Innovation Special Report.
Prof. Awad is seeking graduate students in the following areas: Technology Law (artificial intelligence, data governance), Intellectual property law (copyright, patents), comparative and international intellectual property.
