Professor Bassem Awad shapes the future of intellectual property and technology law governance and education
November 14, 2025
Under Professor Bassem Awad’s leadership, Western Law’s Intellectual Property, Innovation and Technology (IPIT) law program aims to advance an inclusive, innovation-enabling intellectual property (IP) ecosystem that responds to technological disruption and global societal challenges. Awad’s research, coupled with Western Law’s knowledge mobilization and training activities in IPIT law are united in this mission.
Professor Awad joined Western Law in 2020, bringing extensive experience in IP, technology law and innovation policies. Outside of his roles as director of the IPIT Area of Concentration and founding director of the Western Intellectual Property and Innovation Legal Clinic (WIPILC), he is also deeply engaged in global conversations about IP education and governance.
Awad serves as a visiting professor at the Academy of the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva and serves as the chair of the African Union ASRIC Taskforce on Intellectual Property. Many of his research projects involve international collaborations with researchers from Canada, Europe, Africa and key international organizations, focusing on the governance of IP, and innovation policies in the data-driven economy.
Awad’s primary research interests are in the governance of IP and innovation, with particular attention to how frontier technologies are reshaping intellectual property and privacy norms. Currently, his research agenda is focused in three streams that examine the intersections of IP with digital entrepreneurship and frontier technologies, climate justice, and access to medicines.
Beyond enhancing Western Law’s IPIT curriculum with experiential learning and interdisciplinary collaboration opportunities, Awad also founded the WIPILC in 2021 providing training opportunities for 71 students who have supported more than 100 clients. He has also led multiple knowledge mobilization initiatives targeted at researchers and innovators in need of IP support, including the Western IP Strategy Bootcamp and capacity building activities.
We recently spoke to Professor Awad who shared a deep dive into his research, Western Law’s IPIT program and clinical opportunities, how IPIT training prepares innovation-ready lawyers, and the trends shaping the future of IP law and business law.
How does your current research explore the intersections of IP, digital technologies and innovation policies?
The first stream of my research is focused on IP, digital entrepreneurship and frontier technologies. This stream examines how IP and data governance frameworks must evolve to support innovation in an era shaped by AI and data-driven business models.
One project in this area explores the legal implications of collaborative intelligence—an emerging innovation model in which AI systems act as a co-creator/inventor rather than a replacement for human creativity. It examines how current IP doctrines, particularly copyright and patent laws, respond to human-AI collaboration and whether new governance models are needed.
Another project is exploring how digital entrepreneurship is reshaping Canada’s innovation landscape, enabling startups and SMEs to scale and compete globally. This research analyzes the legal characteristics and challenges of digital entrepreneurship and evaluates whether existing IP and data governance regimes adequately address new forms of value creation in the digital economy.
The second research stream responds to the urgent climate crisis. It examines the role of IP—particularly patents—in enabling or hindering the global diffusion of green technologies essential for climate mitigation and adaptation. The overarching goal of this stream is to explore policy frameworks within, around and beyond current patent regimes to ensure equitable access to environmentally sound technologies and promote climate justice, while maintaining incentives for innovation.
A flagship initiative in this stream is the SSHRC Destination Horizon Grant: Canada–European Union Partnership on Intellectual Property for Climate Justice. This research network brings together scholars across two continents to identify barriers to technology transfer and develop equitable models for patent governance in climate action.
The final stream of my current research examines how domestic and international IP regimes can be leveraged or reformed to ensure equitable access to medicines, vaccines and life-saving technologies. It focuses on the flexibilities, limitations and exceptions within IP laws that can enable timely and fair access to medical technologies, particularly in the context of global health emergencies and periods of rapid technological change.
What impact do you hope that your research has?
I am most proud of how my research bridges the gap between academia, public policy and global governance. Whether addressing equitable access to medicines, climate technologies or digital entrepreneurship, my work aims to make IP law more inclusive and responsive to global challenges. Looking ahead, I hope my research continues to inform evidence-based policymaking that advances equity, sustainability and innovation. Ultimately, I seek to reimagine the governance of IP so that it supports not only economic growth, but also social justice and human development.
How is Western Law preparing the next generation of innovation-ready lawyers while supporting Canadian entrepreneurship?
Western Law offers a distinctive suite of courses at the intersection of IP, technology and innovation policy, anchored in experiential learning and interdisciplinary collaboration. In our Foundational IP Law course—taught in collaboration with Ivey Business School—law students partner with MBA and HBA teams to build IP strategies for real venture projects. This term-long assignment immerses students in the entrepreneurial journey by working side by side with business students and present their legal findings along their teams to judges from venture capital, private equity and angel investors. Similarly, in the IPIT Capstone, students collaborate with government agencies, international organizations and NGOs to produce technical policy reports on emerging legal issues in IP and innovation.
In addition, the WIPILC was created to provide hands-on learning experience for law students while supporting innovators, startups and entrepreneurs with IP and related technology law guidance. Students work directly with clients, developing practical skills and applying classroom knowledge to real IP matters.
Our students support clients on a wide range of IP-related matters including copyrighted works, patents, trademarks, IP valuation, IP strategy development and commercialization, freedom-to-operate assessments, privacy law, IP agreements and due diligence. Clients come from diverse sectors including science, engineering, consumer health, education and the creative industries.
Students also contribute to the Western IP Strategy Bootcamp, which helps researchers, entrepreneurs, and early-stage innovators develop strategic, business-aligned IP and data management approaches needed to compete domestically and globally.
What is the greatest strength of Western’s IPIT law program?
Western’s greatest strength lies in its integrated approach. The program connects the doctrinal theory of IP with the broader innovation ecosystem, combining experiential learning, policy engagement and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Our students learn not only the law but also how IP and data governance contribute to entrepreneurship, economic development, Indigenous knowledge and technological change.
What are the benefits of studying IPIT law for future lawyers in today’s evolving legal landscape?
Studying IP and technology law today equips students with a strategic understanding of how innovation is regulated. As technologies like artificial intelligence, biotechnology and quantum computing transform our economies, lawyers with a deep understanding of IP, data and emerging technologies will be essential in guiding both public and private decision-making. It’s an area where law, ethics and innovation intersect, and where lawyers have a unique opportunity to meaningfully influence how the next wave of technological transformation unfolds.
What has been the most rewarding part of your time leading the Area of Concentration in IPIT law and the Clinic thus far?
The most rewarding part has been witnessing students translate theory into practice. Seeing them providing legal information to startups, researchers and entrepreneurs, engage with policy makers and international organizations and build their confidence as innovation lawyers is deeply fulfilling. Equally rewarding is the sense of community and collaboration—our students, alumni and partners are truly helping shape the future of IP and technology law in Canada and beyond.
What trends or developments in IPIT law and business law more broadly will shape the future of legal education this area?
The future of legal education will increasingly be shaped by emerging technologies—particularly AI, data governance, biotechnology and climate innovation. Lawyers will face new questions about the legal personality of AI systems, AI-generated works and inventions, data ownership, algorithmic accountability and green patent pools.
We are also seeing a shift toward interdisciplinary and globally informed legal training. Understanding the technological, ethical and societal dimensions of innovation is becoming just as important as knowing the law itself. Western is well-positioned to lead that transformation.
What do you envision for the future of the IPIT law academic and clinical programs?
My vision is to make Western Law a national hub for technology law and policy—a place where students, researchers and industry partners collaborate to address real-world challenges. We are expanding our experiential learning model through cross-faculty collaborations, international partnerships and policy-oriented research initiatives. Our goal is to prepare graduates who are not only exceptional lawyers but also innovation strategists and policy thinkers.
