Biography
Dr. Chimdessa Fekadu Tsega is an international scholar and legal consultant specializing in international law, with particular expertise in intellectual property law, trade law, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and China-Africa relations. With over a decade of academic and research experience spanning Hong Kong, Europe, Singapore, and Africa, Dr. Chimdessa brings a rare depth of global legal expertise to every client engagement.
Dr. Chimdessa holds a PhD in Law from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, a Master of Public Policy from the National University of Singapore, a Master of Laws from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights in Switzerland, and a Bachelor of Laws — awarded with the Faculty Gold Medal — from Jimma University in Ethiopia. This exceptional academic foundation, built across four continents, equips him with a uniquely interdisciplinary perspective shaped by rigorous training in public policy, international law, human rights, and AI and law.
His research and practice focus on patent law and policy (particularly pharmaceuticals), law and technology including intellectual property issues in Artificial Intelligence, and the legal architecture of the AfCFTA. Dr. Chimdessa is the author of a forthcoming monograph, Patent Law and Policy in Africa: The AfCFTA Framework (Routledge, 2026), and has published over ten peer-reviewed articles in leading academic journals including the Journal of Law and the Biosciences (Oxford), Legal Studies (Cambridge), and the Journal of Intellectual Property Law and Practice (Oxford).
Dr. Chimdessa has presented his research at Harvard Law School, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the African International Economic Law Network, and the IP & Innovation Researchers of Asia Conference. He has also conducted research residencies at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in Germany, one of the world’s foremost institutions for intellectual property scholarship.
Throughout his career, Dr. Chimdessa has been recognised with numerous prestigious honours and fellowships, including the CUHK Best Student Award (2023), the Max Planck Institute Visiting Fellowship (2022), the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship (2020), the CUHK Vice-Chancellor’s PhD Scholarship Scheme (2020), the Olam International Scholarship for Change Catalysts in African Markets (2015), the Hungarian Government Good Governance Scholarship (2014), the Rolex Hans Wilsdorf Foundation Scholarship (2013), and the Jimma University Faculty of Law Gold Medal for the highest grade average in his graduating class (2008).
Education
PhD in Law, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR.
Master of Public Policy (MPP), National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Master of Laws (LL.M), Geneva Academy, Switzerland.
Bachelor of Laws (LL.B), Jimma University, Ethiopia.
Language
English, Amharic, Afaan Oromoo
Professional Experience
- Postdoctoral Fellow, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR.
- Adjunct Lecturer, KDI School of Public Policy and Management, South Korea (WIPO-KDI Joint Master’s Program on IP and Development)
- Visiting Researcher, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Munich, Germany
- Lecturer of Law & Coordinator of the Centre for Moot Court and Legal Profession Development, Wollega University, Ethiopia
- Lecturer, University of Gondar, Ethiopia.
Selected Publications
Book (Under Contract)
- Patent Law and Policy in Africa: The AfCFTA Framework, Routledge (2026)
Journal Articles
- Patenting AI-Assisted Pharmaceutical Innovations: Do Conventional Justifications Fit the New Landscape?, 2026 (forthcoming).
- Ensuring Vaccine Access through Local Production: The Case for a Harmonized and Sustainable Approach, 12(2) Journal of Law and the Biosciences, 2025, https://academic.oup.com/jlb/article/12/2/lsaf020/8307085
- Intellectual Property Rights and Public Health: A Critical Examination of the AfCFTA Framework, 15(5) The Journal of Medicine, Law & Public Health (JMLPH), 2025, https://jmlph.net/index.php/jmlph/article/view/248
- Exploring Africa’s Role in the International Organization for Mediation (IOMed): African Solutions with a Chinese Touch?, Review of the African Political Economy, 2025, https://roape.net/2025/08/01/exploring-africas-role-in-the-international-organization-for-mediation-iomed-african-solutions-with-a-chinese-touch/
- The case for a holistic approach to IP law and access to medicines for least developed countries: an African perspective, 19(8) Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice 2024, https://academic.oup.com/jiplp/article/19/8/690/7666584
- Pharmaceutical patent law and policy in Africa: a survey of selected SADC member states, 43(2) Legal Studies 2023 (with Bryan Mercurio & Tolulope Anthony Adekola), https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/legal-studies/article/pharmaceutical-patent-law-and-policy-in-africa-a-survey-of-selected-sadc-member-states/4236605EA76868E0F3F323988EA5AC7B
- Patent Harmonization in Africa: What Potential Roles for AfCFTA IP Protocol? 6(44) European Intellectual Property Review 2022 (369-379), https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/agispt.20221202079190
- The Responsibility of International Organizations for Wrongful Acts in Peacekeeping Operations, (59) (4) Indian Journal of International Law, 2020 (301-322), https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40901-020-00112-1
- The Extra-territorial Non-Applicability of Economic and Social Rights during Military Occupation of a Foreign Territory, (5)(5) Journal of Legal Studies and Research, 2019 (1-27), https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4078526
- China-Africa Trade and Investment Relations: Development Partnership or New Colonialism?, (2)(1) Economics, Commerce and Trade Management: An International Journal (ECTIJ), 2019. (47-57), https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4328393
Book Chapters
- Towards a Regional AI Governance Framework in Healthcare: Insights from the East African Community (EAC), in Rita Matulionyte, Jyh-An Lee & Daria Kim (ed.), Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Governance, Law and Policy, Cambridge University Press, 2026 (forthcoming)
- Mapping Vaccine Manufacturing and Pooled Procurement Initiatives in Africa, in Tolulope Adekola & Omkar Nadh Pattela, Socio-technological relationships in vaccine systems: uncovering the dynamics of interaction, Palgrave Macmillan, 2026 (forthcoming), https://link.springer.com/book/9789819583485
Selected Qualifications
- Certificate, AI Policy, Centre for AI and Digital Policy (2025)
- Certificate, Generative AI: Introduction and Applications, IBM (2025)
- Certificate, AI & Law, Lund University, Faculty of Law (2025)
- Certificate, WIPO IP Training Strategies, WIPO (2024).
- Certificate, Research Ethics Training: Survey and Behavioural Ethics, CUHK (2023).
- Certificate, Research Ethics Training: Publication Ethics, CUHK (2023).
- Certificate, International Public Service Diplomacy Expert, NUPS Hungary (2015).