William O. Hennessey

William Hennessey

Professor Emeritus
Office: UNH School of Law, 2 White Street, Concord, NH 03301

Professor Hennessey taught courses in intellectual property law, international trade law, the law of traditional peoples and public international law. He directed the University of New Hampshire School of Law - Tsinghua School of Law Intellectual Property Summer Institute in Beijing, China. He was a Fulbright Senior Lecturer at Tsinghua in 1998. Prior to coming to UNH School of Law, he worked as an interpreter with delegations of Chinese scientists and policy makers for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) at the National Academy of Sciences and at hearings before several Congressional sub–committees. He also taught Chinese fiction and poetry at the University of Illinois and Oberlin College from 1979 until 1983. He worked as a translation advisor to the Legislative Drafting Office of the State Council of the PRC. Additionally, Professor Hennessey was a member of the Advisory Board of the WIPO Worldwide Academy. He regularly consulted on international intellectual property issues for WIPO; the United States Patent and Trademark Office and Department of State; the World Bank; Asian Development Bank; U.S. Agency for International Development and a number of foreign governments. He is the co-author of International Intellectual Property Law and Policy, (Matthew Bender 2006) and International and Comparative Patent Law (Matthew Bender 2002).

Selected publications

Deconstructing Shanzhai–China’s Copycat Counterculture: Catch Me If You Can Campbell Law Review (2012) Protection of Intellectual Property in China (30 Years and More): A Personal Reflection. Houston Law Review (2009) Enacting International Laws and Implementing Public Policies to Protect the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to Knowledge and Biodiversity: Challenges and Opportunities. (Africa) (2006) What’s New? Innovating the Teaching of Innovation Law. Journal of Intellectual Property Rights (India) (January 2007) Patent Protection and its Role in Promoting Invention, Innovation, and Technological Development. WIPO (1999) Changing Traffic Patterns in Technospace. Michigan State Law Review (2005 MICH. ST. L. REV. 201) Sustainable Development: A "Win-Win" for Licensing and for the Environment. (March 1996) Toward A Conceptual Framework for Recognition of Rights for the Holders of Traditional Knowledge and Folklore. (2002) Online proceedings of the Franklin Pierce Law Center conference, "The Greening of Technology Transfer." (April 1994)

Education
  • AB, Brown University
  • PhD, University of Michigan
  • JD, Franklin Pierce Law Center