Bengt Domeij new head of department at the Faculty of Law

Professor Domeij has been with the Department of Law at Uppsala University for nine years, during which his main teaching and research interests have been the law related to the advent and spread of new technology. Patents play a key role in the field, as do licensing opportunities and rules related to trade secrets. As one example of numerous appointments, Professor Domeij was appointed by the Swedish government in 2016 as an expert in the Public Inquiry on Protection of Trade Secrets (see Swedish Government Official Report SOU 2017:45, New Act on Trade Secrets).

He was also one of the founders of IMK, the Institute of Intellectual Property, Marketing and Competition Law at the Faculty of Law, for which he now sits on the board.

Professor Domeij feels honoured and inspired by having been appointed head of the Department of Law:

“Since I started here in 2010, I have come to know a department with simply outstanding colleagues and students who approach their work with a keen awareness of quality in a stable organisation. It is a relatively large organisation, but one that is held together by shared commitment to and on behalf of the law programme. My first ambition as head of department is to ensure that students and researchers who come here experience a vibrant and intellectually stimulating organisation. Everyone arrives with their personal circumstances and goals, but once they are here, I hope they also develop a sense of how exciting it can be to understand and develop the role of law in society in collaboration with their fellow students and colleagues.”

Looking back at six years as head of the department, Professor Brattström thoroughly understands that the head of department’s role is multi-faceted. Along with other responsibilities, she has had to deal with premises, such as new offices and student areas in the Munken block and the teaching building at Trädgårdsgatan 7E in Uppsala. Unfortunately, a variety of water damage incidents in the Oxenstiernska building and the Munken block had to be repaired and administered. The department’s finances also required quite a bit of time and attention; concerted effort that involved and affected the entire department has resulted in a considerably better position than was the case only a few years ago. Numerous meetings with colleagues within the Faculty of Law, other parts of the university and community stakeholders have addressed everything from day-to-day issues to matters leading to innovation and dramatic change. Collaborations have been initiated and others have been expanded. The drafting of procedures for and performance of employee reviews was a particularly important task.

“Overall, my years as head of department were very exciting and intellectually enriching: Our department upholds extremely high standards and all of our colleagues are phenomenal! But now I am looking forward to once again devoting most of my time to that which is the primary mission of all universities: research and education,” Professor Brattström says.

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