February 6, 2025

cjstudents

News for criminal justice students

Leader in legal research and education welcomes new academics

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Dr Olugbenga Olatunji

Dr Olugbenga Olatunji teaches Trade marks and Patents unit alongside Torts and Contracts unit.

His broad research theme explores the intersections between the conferment of intellectual property-related monopoly rights on private entities and access of poor populations (especially in East Africa Community) to quality and affordable medicines.

Olugbenga’s research interests also extend to other IP-related subject-matters such as free trade agreements, anti-counterfeiting laws and the implications of developed-country-favoured preferential agreementson the freewill of low- and middle-income countries to use IP rights exceptions.

“For years, I saw and read of how millions of people in Africa (and other poor countries) died from otherwise treatable and/or curable medical conditions for lack of access to required drugs/treatments. For them, lack of access is synonymous with inability to afford high prices set for these treatments at pharmacies and hospitals. I had always wondered as a law student how the law could play a soothing role for this class of people.

This background shaped my research focus – understanding the relationship between intellectual property rights and everything access to medicines.

  • What is the nature of this relationship?
  • What kind of relationship ought to exist between patent protection for pharmaceutical inventions and public access to affordable medicines?
  • At what point does patent protection for incentivising innovations become a liability for access to medicines?

These are some of the questions which I seek to address using the instrumentality of the law. Given the available academic resources at this prestigious law school, I look forward to drawing from these resources for quality research aimed at answering these questions.

As an Intellectual Property law teacher, I expect to see a retool of the legal education to ensure it keeps abreast of contemporary developments. With new and ground-breaking technologies expected to emerge in the nearest future, I particularly envisage more pivotal role for IP laws, IP lawyers and IP law teachers in conceptualising, enacting, applying, and teaching regulatory provisions required to draw the right balance between rewards for private investments and ensuring affordable public access to emerging technologies.

It can also be expected that teachers and practitioners of other legal subjects – Contract law, Torts law, Corporations law, etc. – will have more regulatory obligations tossed on them to ensure a smooth running of the society.”

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