Academy Fellow

The principal field of my current research is the application of intellectual property protection to agricultural and medical innovation. This takes into account proposals for the protection of the knowledge of traditional and local communities. My current ARC project looks at the application of the local agricultural knowledge of traditional communities in India and Indonesia to assist in dealing with climate change. This research also entails the quest for appropriate protection for the knowledge and cultural heritage of indigenous peoples. This is a subject being discussed in the context of three treaties currently before the World Intellectual Property Organization and was the subject of a treaty drafted by me for Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.

This grows out of my earlier intellectual property research in the general field of the formulation of international norms for intellectual property protection. This research informed the work which I have undertaken for a number of developing countries in Africa and Asia seeking to become members of the World Trade Organization.

1. M. Blakeney, Intellectual Property Rights and Food Security. Wallingford. CAB International. 2009.
2. M. Blakeney, The Protection of Geographical Indications. Law and Practice Cheltenham UK, Edward Elgar 2014
3. M. Blakeney, ‘Agricultural Innovation: Patenting and Plant Variety Rights Protection’ in Gabriela Steier & Kiran K. Patel eds, International Food Law and Policy, Springer International, 2017, 145-76.
4. M. Blakeney, ‘Protecting the Knowledge and Cultural Expressions of Aboriginal Peoples’, (2015) 39 University of Western Australia Law Review 180-207,
5. M. Blakeney, ‘Restitution of Art Looted During the Nazi Era, 1933-1945: Implications for Australia’, (2016) 41(1) UWA Law Review 252-273.