Research

I am a researcher in intellectual property (IP) law, with expertise in copyright law and IP norms. I analyse the relationship between law and society by exploring the legal, ethical, and cultural dimensions of controversies involving copyright law. 

Why copyright law? Well, I like studying art and other visual mediums (despite the fact I cannot draw!) 

I explore the patterns around creative expression and practices that emerge within artist communities, including common perceptions of moral and ethical conduct (i.e. informal systems of governance). I find it interesting that the “rules” that govern these communities can be different from the assumptions that underpin the formal legal rules around copying.

I often add a cultural or political lens or angle to the disputes I study. For example, when I use case studies of controversial uses of images, motifs or art styles owned by, or created within, Māori or Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities. I like exploring how art can be a site of cultural meaning as well as protest or social critique. 

I experiment with different qualitative methods to try and “get at” the relationship between law and society in different ways. Most recently this has involved collaborating with artists and creative industries academics. I like working with people from different disciplines as it helps me think about law and what it means in everyday life in novel ways. 

Some of my key research questions are: 

• How are creative communities regulated by, and in the shadow of, the formal law? 
• How does law and legality manifest in everyday life in practices and the legal consciousness of individuals, including creators? 
• What are the challenges of transplanting new legal norms within artistic subcultures?  
• What is the politics that is engaged, resisted, and produced in the domain of copyright law?