Ruth L. Okediji

Ruth L. Okediji is the Jeremiah Smith Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, co-Director of the Harvard University Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, and Director of the Harvard Program on Biblical Law and Christian Legal Studies. She has held distinguished visitor-ships and teaching posts, as well as authored an extensive array of work on the relationship between international intellectual property, multilateral trade and development in developing and least-developed countries. She has served as a policy advisor to many inter-governmental organizations, regional economic communities and national governments, including her appointment by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to his High-Level Panel on Patents and Access to Medicines. Professor Okediji has been recognized by Managing IP as one of the world’s 50 most influential people in intellectual property law and received the IP3 Award from Public Knowledge, recognizing significant contributions to the IP field. Since 2010, she has been a member of the Executive Board of the National Order of the Coif and served as Vice President of the Board until 2015 when she was elected President. She currently serves as co-Chair of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Committee on improving commercialization of digital products from U.S. National Labs. Professor Okediji is a graduate of the University of Jos and Harvard Law School. She is a member of the New York Bar, the Minnesota Bar, and the American Bar Association.