Oswald Essien

Oswald is a legal scholar specializing in intellectual property law, focusing on copyright, the public domain, and the digital environment. His research examines the conceptual design of copyright—particularly how the use of works could be made easier—and how copyright frameworks might be adjusted in the digital space to enhance creative processes while ensuring they reflect the perceived nature of the internet. He engages with interdisciplinary approaches, integrating legal, technological, and theoretical perspectives to explore the intersection of law and digital culture.
He is currently a PhD researcher at the University of Exeter, investigating copyright law's conceptual and practical boundaries.
Oswald has prior academic training in intellectual property and the digital economy, earning an LLM from the University of Glasgow. He also holds qualifications as a solicitor and barrister-at-law from the Nigerian Law School. He has gained professional experience through research roles and legal practice.
At the University of Exeter, he contributes as a Postgraduate Teaching Associate, delivering modules in Human Rights Law and Constitutional Law. His engagement extends to the GLAM-E Lab, where he assists in research at the intersection of law, technology, and cultural heritage.
Besides law, you can nudge him if you're interested in comics, chess, or creative writing (particularly prose).