Despite the current prevalence of university courses in intellectual property law, the first UK academic Chair in the subject was created only thirty years ago.
Professor Johanna Gibson is the first woman to hold the Chair since it was established. She says:
“Dr Smith’s philanthropy was both generous and visionary. His generosity and foresight established the first academic chair in intellectual property in the United Kingdom – the Herchel Smith Chair at Queen Mary – which it is my very great honour to hold. The Herchel Smith Chair was created on the recommendation of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) together with additional teaching and research positions at Queen Mary. Through this funding, we have established one of the most significant collections of intellectual property in Europe, in the Herchel Smith Archive, managed by Malcolm Langley. The Herchel Smith bequest continues to fund scholarships for students on the MSc in Management of Intellectual Property as well as PhD researchers, fulfilling Dr Smith’s legacy of a vibrant and diverse research community in intellectual property that continues to grow.
It is a marvellous story in the history of intellectual property in the United Kingdom, and one which is retold beautifully by our own Malcolm Langley in the inaugural April 2011 issue of our flagship journal, the Queen Mary Journal of Intellectual Property, published by Edward Elgar”.
Find out more about the Herchel Smith.