Projects per year
Personal profile
Particulars
Dr. Pratyush Nath Upreti is Reader in Law at the School of Law. He serves as the Programme Director of LLM in Intellectual Property Law, a program he co-designed with Professor Giancarlo Frosio.
He is a Research Affiliate at Sciences Po Paris and the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki. Before his appointment at Queen’s University Belfast, he held positions at the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, and the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition Law, Munich. He was a fellow at Stanford Law School, Transatlantic Technology Law Forum (TTLF) from 2018- 2023 (June).
Before moving to academia, Pratyush practiced law, appeared before the Supreme Court of Nepal and sub-ordinate courts. He has taught in Nepal and continues to advise and write on legal and policy issues related to Nepal. He is the author/editor of the following books:
- 'Intellectual Property Objectives in International Investment Agreements' (Edward Elgar, 2022) [reviewed in the Journal of International Economic Law, Asian Journal of International Law and International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law ]. He was invited to give book talk at Cornell Law School, USA and University of Bergen, Norway.
- Intellectual Property Rights in the Post-Pandemic World: An Integrated Framework of Sustainability, Innovation and Global Justice (Edward Elgar, 2023) [co-edited with T. Pihlajarinne and J.M Mähönen] [Reviewed in Oxford Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, 2024 and Intellectual Property Forum- the Journal of IP Society of Australia and New Zealand, 2024]
- Intellectual Property Debates in South Asia: Law, Development, and Practice (Hart Publishing, 2025)
Pratyush has advised least developed countries (LDCs) Governments on intellectual property policies and acted as a consultant in private sector development projects focusing on IP, trade, and investment for the European Union (EU) funded projects. He has represented international organizations at the General Assembly of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and is an expert for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
In 2022, Pratyush’s commissioned a study for UNCTAD titled Case of Geographical Indication Protection of the Mozambique White Prawn, UNCTAD/ALDC/2022/2, followed in 2023 by a study on Geographical Indication Protection of Mozambique's Cabrito de Tete (Tete Goat), UNCTAD/ALDC/2023/1). That same year, he was appointed as an IP expert to a seven-member committee formed by the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia.
In 2024, Pratyush was a visiting Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University Singapore, and also a visiting scholar at the EW Barker Centre for Law & Business, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore.
Pratyush is also a visiting faculty member of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), National Law University Delhi and Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks Joint Master's/LLM in IP Law and Management and Ho Chin Minh City University of Law, Vietnam
He is an elected Executive Committee Member of the Asian Society of International (AsianSIL), with its secretariat based at the National University of Singapore. He also serves on the editorial board for the Global Trade and Customs Journal, Kluwer Law International and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).
Research Focus
Pratyush’s research focuses on International and Comparative aspects of Intellectual Property Law, in particularly focusing through Third World Approaches to International Law. His research outcomes have received awards.
In 2025, his research article received prestigious the Surya P. Subedi Prize from the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Also in 2025, he was awarded a competitive visiting fellowship funded by Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO), which allows him to visit and collaborate with the University of Antwerp in Belgium.
In 2023, his book entitled 'Intellectual Property Objectives in International Investment Agreements' (2022) published by Edward Elgar was voted for the IPKat 2022 Intellectual Property Law Book of the Year! Pratyush was also awarded first prize in the International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property (ATRIP) Essay Competition for Young Researchers in Intellectual Property Law and the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys- 'FICPI Young Scholar's Prize (2022)'.
Pratyush's work has been published widely in leading international journals including the International & Comparative Law Quarterly (ICLQ), World Trade Review, the International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law (IIC), the Journal of World Intellectual Property, European Intellectual Property Review, the Journal of World Trade, Berkeley Journal of International Law, American Journal of International Arbitration, Oxford Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice and among others.
His academic output has been cited in studies conducted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs, UNCTAD, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the World Bank in 2024.
He has been awarded funding from the ESRC, Foreign &Commonwealth Office, WIPO and other bodies and reviewed funding application such as UKRI. He has collaborated on a research project titled 'Shaping, Fixing and Making Markets via IPR: Regulating Sustainable Innovation Ecosystems' with the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki and Faculty of Law, University of Lapland, funded by Academy of Finland. He is also involved in a collaborative grant application with Durham Law School and the Univeristy of Helsinki.
Research Interests
Pratyush is interested in areas of international intellectual property (IP) law and policy. Particularly, how national and international legal orders affect domestic IP laws and policies. More broadly, interfaces of IP with other branches of international law such as international investment law and trade.
He is also interested in issues of IP, sustainability, and innovation. Increasingly, he is interested in interfaces of different legal regimes in international law with a focus on Asian Legal Studies (particularly South Asia)/Global South more generally.
Teaching
Intellectual Property Law
Legal Methods and Skills
Law and Technology
Foundations of IP Law, Theory, Economics & Policy (MC)
Global Intellectual Property, Trade and Technology (MC)
Innovation and Creativity Clinic: Project Based Learning (MC)
Other
Prorgamme Co-ordinator of LLM-Intellectual Property Law (2023-)
Member of the School of Law Research Committee (2022-23)
Member of the School of Law Academic Offence Committee (2022-)
Member of the Post-Graduate Taught Programme (PGT) (2023-)
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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R1253LAW: The Role of Geographical Indications in Promoting Rural Development in Nepal
Upreti, P. N. (PI)
17/10/2023 → …
Project: Research
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R3657LAW: Promoting Inclusive Development Policy for Least Developed Countries
Upreti, P. N. (PI)
06/05/2024 → 31/03/2025
Project: Research
Research output
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Artificial intelligence and technocolonialism (not) by design?
Upreti, P. N., 30 Jul 2025, In: IIC International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law. 56, 6, p. 1059–1063 5 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)220 Downloads (Pure) -
Empirical and normative assessment of trademark litigation in Nepal
Upreti, P. N., 30 Oct 2025, Intellectual property debates in South Asia: law, development, and practice. Upreti, P. N. (ed.). Bloomsbury PublishingResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
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Intellectual property debates in South Asia: law, development, and practice
Upreti, P. N., 30 Oct 2025, Bloomsbury Publishing . 384 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Intellectual property for inclusive development through subnational variations
Upreti, P. N. & Salar, N., 30 Oct 2025, Intellectual property debates in South Asia: law, development, and practice. Upreti, P. N. (ed.). Bloomsbury PublishingResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
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Intellectual property in (South) Asia: an editor's introduction
Upreti, P. N., 30 Oct 2025, Intellectual property debates in South Asia: law, development, and practice. Upreti, P. N. (ed.). Bloomsbury PublishingResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
Prizes
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AHSS Faculty Research Initiatives Fund
Upreti, P. N. (Recipient), 13 May 2022
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Best LLM Thesis Award
Upreti, P. N. (Recipient), 31 May 2015
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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FICPI Young Scholar's Prize
Upreti, P. N. (Recipient), 24 Jun 2022
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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First Prize, The Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property (ATRIP) Essay Competition
Upreti, P. N. (Recipient), 2022
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
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Dr Jose Bellido
Upreti, P. N. (Host)
25 Nov 2025Activity: Hosting a visitor types › Hosting an academic visitor
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International Law in Asia Speaker Series: International Law and IP Practices in South Asia at Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore (NUS)
Upreti, P. N. (Advisor)
17 Nov 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Public lecture/debate/seminar
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Book Talk: Intellectual Property Debates in South Asia at Oxford Programme in Asian Laws
Upreti, P. N. (Invited speaker)
17 Oct 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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IP and Free Trade Agreements: Demystifying the IPR Chapter in the India-UK CETA
Upreti, P. N. (Invited speaker)
15 Sept 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Public lecture/debate/seminar
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From Centre to Periphery: The Role of Subnational Variations in Intellectual Property Governance
Upreti, P. N. (Invited speaker)
03 Jul 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Public lecture/debate/seminar
Press/Media
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Nepal Challenges India's GI Registration For Basmati Rice
09/02/2021
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Annual General Assembly, Geneva
12/10/2016
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment