Meet the IPeers Team!

Maria José Schmidt-Kessen is Assistant Professor at the Legal Studies Department of the Central European University in Vienna. She received her PhD from the European University Institute with a thesis on conflicts at the IP-competition interface in EU law. Her main fields of research are antitrust law, IP law, law and technology, online d

Maria José Schmidt-Kessen is Assistant Professor at the Legal Studies Department of the Central European University in Vienna. She received her PhD from the European University Institute with a thesis on conflicts at the IP-competition interface in EU law. Her main fields of research are antitrust law, IP law, law and technology, online dispute settlement, legal issues related to DLTs/blockchain, as well as the regulation of online gambling.

Before joining CEU, Maria José was assistant professor in EU Commercial Law at Copenhagen Business School and Postdoctoral Researcher and Teaching Associate at the the Center for Commercial Law Studies of Queen Mary University London.

David graduated from Durham University with a 2:1 in Law, with modules focusing on bioethics, legal philosophy, and intellectual property. In 2015, David received a Monbukagakusho (MEXT) Scholarship to complete an LL.M. at Kyushu University, Japan, in international economic and business law - producing a thesis that focused on an analysis

David graduated from Durham University with a 2:1 in Law, with modules focusing on bioethics, legal philosophy, and intellectual property. In 2015, David received a Monbukagakusho (MEXT) Scholarship to complete an LL.M. at Kyushu University, Japan, in international economic and business law - producing a thesis that focused on an analysis of Japanese intellectual property rights and their relationship to advanced technologies. Whilst in Japan, David also taught English with a private language school in Fukuoka and worked with both students and legal professionals.  After returning to England, he volunteered in the local branch of a national charity to assist with general maintenance and the training of new volunteers. In 2016, David joined the Department for Work and Pensions as a case worker, focusing on the national transition of claims from DLA to PIP. In the latter half of the year, David acted as part of a group of case workers that mentored newer teams entering the department.  David joined the Department of Legal Studies as an S.J.D. student in 2017, where his research focuses on a comparative analysis of patent rights in developing and developed nations - investigating in particular, access to medicine in developing countries and the impact of harmonisation on global patent discourse.

Pelin Turan is a postdoctoral research fellow at Scuola Superiora Sant’Anna, Institute of Law, Politics and Development (DIRPOLIS) and Lider-Lab.

Pelin holds a PhD in International Business Law from Central European University for her doctoral dissertation, entitled ‘Gazing at Intellectual Property Law through the Lens of Critical Race The

Pelin Turan is a postdoctoral research fellow at Scuola Superiora Sant’Anna, Institute of Law, Politics and Development (DIRPOLIS) and Lider-Lab.

Pelin holds a PhD in International Business Law from Central European University for her doctoral dissertation, entitled ‘Gazing at Intellectual Property Law through the Lens of Critical Race Theory: The Interplay of Race, Power, and Intellectual Property Law’. She conducted part of her doctoral research as a visiting scholar at Columbia Law School. She holds an LL.M in Intellectual Property Law from the University of Edinburgh. Her master’s studies in the UK were funded by the Chevening Scholarship.

Pelin’s academic research is centered around social justice issues within the (international) intellectual property law domain. She focuses mainly on the interaction of intellectual property rights with human rights, often by adopting critical approaches to intellectual property law, particularly to copyright. 

Before joining DIRPOLIS and Lider-Lab in January 2022, Pelin has designed and taught the ‘Critical Perspectives to International Human Rights Law’ course at Central European University within the framework of the Roma Access Program in the 2018-19, 2020-21, and 2021-22 academic years. She was also invited as a guest lecturer by the Department of Legal Studies to lecture on the intersection of human rights, corporate activities, and intellectual property rights. 

Pelin is a qualified attorney at law enrolled at the Izmir Bar Association (Izmir, Turkey) since 2012, and she was certified as a trademark and patent attorney by the Turkish Patent Institute in 2014.