Mark Davison

Mark Davison is an Emeritus Professor and Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Law at Monash University, specializing in intellectual property law. He holds dual roles as a legal academic and a practicing lawyer with Knightsbridge Lawyers. His expertise spans trade marks, WTO agreements, and public health regulation, particularly tobacco plain packaging. He has authored seminal works such as Shanahan's Australian Law of Trade Marks and Passing Off and contributed to landmark cases including Australia’s successful defense of tobacco plain packaging laws at the WTO.

Research Interests: Intellectual Property Law, Trade Marks, Geographical Indications, WTO Dispute Resolution, Public Health Policy, Database Protection, Competition Law. His work intersects international trade law, health policy, and legal reform.

Awards: Recognized globally as one of the 50 most influential figures in IP (2014) and awarded the Vice-Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Prize (2001). His research has been cited in over 100 court decisions and 250 IP office rulings, including a landmark High Court of Australia ruling in 2023.

Advisory Roles: Member of the Advisory Council on Intellectual Property, Commonwealth Department of Health’s Plain Packaging Expert Group, and Intellectual Property Committee of the Law Council of Australia. He advised the Australian government during WTO tobacco litigation and contributed to free trade agreement negotiations involving geographical indications.

Projects: Led ARC-funded research on geographical indications in Australian trade agreements and the impact of venture capital on innovation. Collaborated internationally on studies about the New Plurilateralism in global governance and the ‘Human Rights in Three Minutes’ video project.

Media Engagement: Regularly commented on IP disputes, EU trade negotiations, and public health policy in media outlets, emphasizing the intersection of law, trade, and societal welfare.