“Prioritise the public interest” is a fitting title for the write up by Kate- Lyn Moore on my Inaugural Lecture which I presented on 28 March 2018. I couldn’t better Kate-Lyn’s summary if I tried, so I’ll urge all those who are interested in what I had to say to read her article. Another generous write up was penned by Bram van Wiele.
The lecture is my career’s work and, upon my promotion to professor in 2016, I knew I had to go through this academic rite of passage. As it happened, the opportunity only arose this year. I decided to entitle the lecture “The public interest in intellectual property law: African solutions to global challenges” and once the invitation was sent out, I knuckled down to finalise it. Preparing for the lecture was hard work because I had to select which aspects of my work to focus on and deliver in a non-technical and relatable way. In the end, I selected those aspects that I thought would resonate with a diverse audience and judging by the feedback I got afterwards, everyone who was there ‘got something’. Much of what I spoke about was work that I have already done and also a preview view of ongoing and planned future work, all held together by the public interest. Completed work has already been captured in publications, policy submissions and op-eds. I’ll publish and post on my on-going and planned work once its complete. Many thanks again to everyone who attended the lecture or has since watched the video. Below are some pictures taken by Je’nine May.
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- A light-hearted moment during the lecture
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- with Prof Rochelle le Roux (my HOD) and Prof Penny Andrews (Dean of UCT Law).
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- With my brother, Alfred, and my sister, Heather.