University

New professor of intellectual property law

31/10/2023

Philipp Homar has returned to WU to assume a part-time professorship in intellectual property law as of mid-October.

Philipp Homar, aged 39, studied law at the University of Vienna, where he also completed a degree in theater, film, and media studies in 2013. In 2019, he received his doctoral degree in business law from WU Vienna. He started his academic career at WU’s Information and Communication Technology & Intellectual Property Law Group in 2012. Following a stint as a senior scientist at the University of Continuing Education Krems, he assumed a (half-time) professorship in intellectual property at the Johannes Kepler University (JKU) in Linz in 2021, which he will retain going forward. Philipp Homar has built a strong international network, for example during research stays at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in Munich and the University of Hong Kong. In the 2023/24 winter semester, he will also be a visiting professor at Masaryk University in Brno. As part his research, Philipp Homar is involved in numerous (interdisciplinary) third-party funded projects, especially in the field of citizen science.

[Translate to English:] Philipp Homar

A complex topic that calls for a multidisciplinary approach

Philipp Homar’s research covers intellectual property law and related areas of law, with a focus on the challenges of digital transformation. “Intellectual property law is profoundly influenced by current technological developments, and its goal is to foster innovation. All this makes intellectual property law a very multi-layered field of research. To better understand the challenges involved, it’s important to include different perspectives and other disciplines in our research,” says Philipp Homar. “WU and the Department of Private Law have an extensive network, both in Austria and internationally. I look forward to being a part of this work at WU again, and I’d like to give early-stage researchers the same kind of support that I myself was lucky to receive at WU many years ago.”

In mid-October, Philipp Homar took over the professorship in intellectual property law at WU’s Department of Private Law, where he now also serves as head of the Information and Communication Technology & Intellectual Property Law Group. He replaces Martin Winner, who took office as WU Vice-Rector for Human Resources and Digital Infrastructure on October 1.

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