Asian Intellectual Property (IP) has been the subject of studies for many years. However, this literature has been uneven, with a strong focus on the Asia Pacific and Southeast Asia, largely driven by the region’s strong economic integration. Meanwhile, IP developments in South Asia have remained comparatively underexplored in mainstream scholarship, often understood primarily through an Indian perspective, while countries in Central Asia have only recently begun to engage in IP policy reforms. This presentation will introduce Intellectual Property Debates in South Asia, where 20 contributors from 6 South Asian countries discuss the diverse IP narratives emerging from the region, drawing on law, development, and practice. In doing so, the book represents the first comprehensive effort to consolidate South Asian IP practices and perspectives within a single edited volume. It moves beyond conventional IP analysis by adopting an interdisciplinary approach that engages with broader historical, cultural, and socio-economic contexts.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Pratyush Nath Upreti is a Reader in Law at Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom, and an expert in international intellectual property law. His research focuses on the intersection of intellectual property, international trade, and investment law, examining how global IP rules shape innovation, development, and governance, with a particular emphasis on Asia and the Global South. He has held academic appointments at the University of Helsinki and the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Munich; was a Fellow at Stanford Law School Transatlantic Technology Law Forum; and has also held visiting academic appointments at the University of Antwerp, the National University of Singapore, National Law University Delhi, and Ho Chi Minh City University of Law.

He has practiced law in Nepal and has been commissioned as an expert by international organizations, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Health Organization (WHO). He is the Convenor (Chair) of the Asian Society of International Law (AsianSIL) Interest Group on International Intellectual Property Law and Policy. He has published in three books and several articles in leading international journals, and his research has received academic recognition and awards, most recently from the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

*The Law Society of Hong Kong has awarded this book talk 1 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) point.

Register here to attend the seminar on or before 25 February 2026, 12:30pm (Hong Kong Time).