BaÅŸak Bak
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+44 (0) 118 378 5641
- Lecturer in Law
- Founder of Law School GENAI Working Group
Building location
Foxhill House (2.07), Whiteknights Road, PO Box 271, ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø RG6 6EPAreas of interest
My research interests fall within the broad field of Intellectual Property Law and Data Protection and Privacy Law, with a special emphasis on AI.
Specifically, I am fascinated by:
- Copyright law and AI, with a focus on GenAI
- Genomic data and big health data
- International data protection and privacy laws, especially data processing activity and cross-border data transfers
- Medical law, especially consent to medical treatment and scientific research
- Internet intermediaries and AI
- Trade Marks Law and other topics in Copyright Law, such as Moral Rights, Authorship, and International Approaches
I welcome expressions of interest from prospective students in these areas of interest.
Teaching
I convene and teach the following modules:
- Intellectual Property Law (LW3IP) at the undergraduate level
- Emerging Issues in Data Protection, Privacy and Copyright (LWMDPC) at the postgraduate level
I also teach workshops and tutorials on the following topic:
- English Legal System and Skills (LW1ELS)
Research centres and groups
- ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø GenAI Community of Practice
- ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø AI Community of Practice
- ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø Public Engagement with Research Community of Practice
- Open and Robust Research at ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø
Background
Dr BaÅŸak Bak is an experienced academic, having worked as a Lecturer in Law for ten years at Ankara University, and as an associate professor of law for two years at Izmir University of Economics. Before this, she was a solicitor in a top-tier international law firm in Istanbul. She is also a qualified barrister, registered with the Istanbul Bar Association.
BaÅŸak practices as a legal consultant specialising in intellectual property law (IP) and data protection and privacy law. She holds two separate PhD degrees in these fields, respectively. She is also a Certified International Privacy Manager (CIPM), Certified International Privacy Professional/Europe (CIPP/E) and an active member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).
Following her LLB studies, BaÅŸak successfully obtained her first LLM degree at Ankara University, followed by her PhD degree (summa cum laude) in IP law in 2015. While she was studying for her first PhD degree, she was a visiting lecturer at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen for two terms (fully funded), as her doctoral thesis was mainly influenced by the German approach to copyright law. After being awarded her doctoral thesis (without corrections), she obtained another master's degree in UK and US copyright law at King’s College London in order to develop her expertise in the common law world. In 2017, BaÅŸak was awarded a grant of £29,000 by the British Council within the framework of the prestigious Newton Fund Researcher Link Workshop Grant to organise an international IP event based on a proposal she developed. This was impressively the first project awarded in the field of law.
BaÅŸak obtained her second PhD (without corrections) from the ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø in genetic data privacy, a significant yet underexplored area within data protection. Her research earned her the prestigious Modern Law Review Scholarship.
BaÅŸak has been working as a full-time Law Lecturer at the ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø since 2020, where she convenes the Intellectual Property and Data Protection Law modules across both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø Law School. She has a track record of publications in IP law, AI and data protection as well as global civil law topics. She published a book on copyright and two book chapters on AI and deepfakes. Currently, she is publishing more widely on the aspects of data protection law and is open to collaboration opportunities in GenAI, intellectual property, and data privacy.
Academic qualifications
PhD (ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø), LLM (King’s College London), PgDiploma (King’s College London), PhD (Ankara University), LLM (Ankara University), LLB (Ankara University) Barrister (Istanbul Bar Association), CIPP/E, CIPM, FHEA
Awards and honours
Modern Law Review (2020-2021): £5,000
British Council (2017-2018): £29,000
Professional bodies/affiliations
- International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)
- The Society of Legal Scholars
- Association of Law Teacher
- The Socio-Legal Studies Association
Websites/blogs
Selected publications
- Bak, Basak, “Artificial Intelligence” in Futurist Law, Aristo, Istanbul, 2018, (ISBN: 9786052332382).
- Bak, Basak, "The Right-of-Way under Electronic Communications Law as a Special Kind of Personal Servitude", AUHFD, Vol. 67/4, 2018.
- Bak, Basak, "The Legal Status of Artificial Intelligence with Regard to Civil Law and the Liability Thereof", TAAD, Vol. 35, 2018, pp. 211-232, (ISSN: 13096826).
- Bak, Basak, "Enforcement and Implementation of Provisions Concerning Suretyship and Standard Business Terms in the New Turkish Code of Obligations Numbered 6098", Law &Justice Review, Vol. 16, 2018, pp. 21 – 33, (ISSN:1309-9485).
- Bak, Basak, "A Review on Divergent Approaches Concerning Moral Rights of Authors in Continental European and Anglo-Saxon Legal Systems", Terazi, V. 140, Nisan 2018, pp. 14 – 23, (ISSN: 1306-9802).
- Bak, Basak, "Knowledge of Cuisine: Intellectual Property Protection in the Turkish Food Sector", Research Journal of Business and Management, Vol. 4/2, July 2017, pp. 141 – 147, (ISSN 2148- 6689).
- Bak, Basak, “The Right of Withdrawal in Distance Contracts under Law on Consumer Protection Numbered 6502”, Law & Justice Review, Vol. 11, 29 February 2016, pp. 129 – 143, (ISSN 1309-9485).
- Bak, Basak, The Right of Withdrawal in Copyright Contracts, Turhan, Ankara, 2016, (ISBN: 9786053130246).
- Bak, Basak, “Patentability under Turkish Patent Law According to the Decree Law No. 551 on the Protection of Patent Rights”, Procedia – Social and Behavioural Sciences, Vol. 195, 3 July 2015.
- Bak, Basak, "The New Provisions and A Review Regarding Publishing Agreement Prescribed by the Turkish Code of Obligations Numbered 6098”, TBBD, Vol. 25/101, 2012, (ISSN 1304-2408).
- Bak, Basak, “Compulsory Patent Licensing for Pharmaceuticals”, Ankara Barosu Dergisi, Vol. 69/3, 2011, (ISSN: 13009885).
- Bak, Basak, "Stock Market Option Contracts", AUSBF, V. 64/4, 2009, (ISSN 1309-1034).