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Igor Szpotakowski

Igor Szpotakowski

Profile

I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Intellectual Property Law at the School of Law of the University of Leeds.  I held the position of Visiting Scholar at Peking University (2024), where I researched regulations on Generative Artificial Intelligence in China. Previously, I worked at the University of Edinburgh, Jagiellonian University and was a PhD candidate and Deputy Convenor of the Law and Futures Research Group at Newcastle University.I am a member of the research team in the UKRI funded project “Mapping Contracts and Licenses around Large Generative Models: private ordering and innovation" (2023). I served as the Principal Investigator for the project ‘Supply of Services Contracts in Private Law of the People’s Republic of China: Codification in the Era of Decodification’ (2020-2024) at Jagiellonian University. I hold a Master’s Degree in Law and BA in Asian Studies from Jagiellonian University. I also holds LLM degree as a Yenching Scholar (Law & Society) at Peking University. Former Fellow of the Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund – SYLFF (2021). I am co-author of three monographs about Chinese law and editor of three others. My experience of engaging with a broad audience beyond academia includes my comments being featured in major media outlets such as New Scientist, The Guardian, Fast Company, Nikkei, and the South China Morning Post.

Research interests

My research interests include Intellectual Property Law (Copyright Law, Trade Marks), Artificial Intelligence Regulation, Data Protection, Emerging Technologies, Roman Law and Comparative Private Law (including Chinese Law). 

<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Some research projects I'm currently working on, or have worked on, will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://essl.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>

Professional memberships

  • Society of Legal Scholars
  • Socio-Legal Studies Association
  • Law and Society Association

Student education

I teach Copyright Law (LLM), Intellectual Property Management (LLM), Contemporary Issues in Intellectual Property: Health, Food, and Biotechnology (LLM), Contract Law (LLB), and The Law of Trusts (LLB).

Research groups and institutes

  • Centre for Business Law and Practice
  • Centre for Law and Social Justice
  • Centre for Innovation and Research in Legal Education