
Professor Abbe Brown
MA (Cantab), Dip IP (Bristol), PhD (Edinburgh), FHEA, Solicitor (non practising) England and Wales, Victoria and Scotland
Dean for Student Support, Professor in Intellectual Property
- About
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C59B Taylor Building Old Aberdeen AB24
Biography
Abbe's research, teaching and policy engagement explores intellectual property and its intersection with other legal fields, in addressing key societal challenges. Abbe is the Chair of British and Irish Law Education and Technology Association (BILETA) and is an NERC Constructing a Digital Environment Senior Expert.
Abbe is a signatory of the 2021 Academic Open Letter in Support of the TRIPS Intellectual Property Waiver Proposal, the ICJ Opinion on Human Rights and the TRIPS Waiver and the ASPHER TRIPS Waiver Statement.
Abbe's 2018 inaugural lecture "Saving the world and delivering equality? Law, innovation and power" is here.
Abbe spent almost 10 years in professional legal practice in London, Melbourne and Edinburgh. Abbe provides consultancy activities, maintains links with the legal profession and industry and is involved in public engagement activities.
Since 2018 Abbe have been involved in negotiations relating to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, in collaboration with colleagues from Chemistry and in developing the Song of the Ocean. Abbe is privileged to have attended COP26 as part of the University of Aberdeen Observer delegation.
Abbe is University Dean for Student Support. She attends and presents at sector events at national and global level, such as WONKHE, Advance HE, QAA and Universities UK and was a member of the Quality Enhancement institutional review team of the University of Iceland.
PhD Supervision
Abbe is interested in PhD supervision in any aspect of technology and innovation law. Abbe is supervising projects incorporate governance and patents, and IP and climate change.
Office hours (hours available to students for informal discussion, in person or online)
1.30-2.30pm UK time on Thursdays in term time, or at other times. Please email abbe.brown@abdn.ac.uk
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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University Dean for Student Support
REF 21 School Lead
Member of two of the School's Research Centres, the Centre for Commercial Law (which she directed in 2018-19) and the Centre for Energy Law.
Member of ATRIP, SLS, SCL, IUCN, DOSI and the Scottish Law and Innovation Network (@LawScottish).
Member of a high-level expert working group on genome editing and patents, led by Professor Duncan Matthews.
Chair of BILETA (British and Irish Law Education and Technology Association) and in 2018 she coordinated the teaching recording policy building on the Aberdeen conference see here.
Former roles: Deputy Head of Law School, Senior Personal Tutor, Academic Line Manager, Programme Co-ordinator LLM in Intellectual Property Law, Programme Director LLB Law with English Law.
- External Memberships
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Technology Committee of the Law Society of Scotland
COP26 & Climate Change Working Group of the Law Society of Scotland
Chair British and Irish Law, Education and Technology Association
Member NHSCR Stakeholder Engagement Panel
Member of Online Identity Assurance Expert Group of the Scottish Government
Peer reviewer AHRC, Leverhulme Trust, British Academy, National University of Ireland, Irish Research Council, Research Foundation of Flanders, ACM, European Law Review, European Law Journal, Marine Policy, European Journal of Law and Technology, Legal Studies, Latvian Council of Science, Institution Wide Review of the University of Iceland. Member of Editorial Board of International Review of Computers, Law and Technology.
External examiner: University of Hertfordshire, University of Exeter, University of Stirling, Bournemouth University, Queen Mary University of London, University of Cape Town, University of Bristol, University of Sussex, London School of Economics.
Previous roles: Member of the editorial board of SCRIPT-ed (2003-5), Chair Privacy Advisory Committee NSSScotland (2013-5), TSB Director's Ad Hoc Group on Intellectual Property Rights of the International Telecommunication Union (2010-2013), Committee of the Licensing Executive Society (Scotland) (2008-2015), Expert Panel member, Academy of Finland (2013-4), Member of Steering Group, Women in Renewables in Scotland and Mentor (2014-16) Lay member, NHSScotland Public Benefit and Privacy Panel (2013-2022)
Prizes and Awards
University of Aberdeen Principal's Outstanding Research Award (Individuals at Further Stages of Career Development (Arts, Humanities and Social Science)) 2022
- Research
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Research Overview
Abbe's research explores the interaction between legal fields relevant to innovation and creativity, with a strong interest on key societal challenges. She is a member of two of the School's Research Centres, the Centre for Commercial Law and the Centre for Energy Law. Abbe was the School of Law lead for REF2021.
Abbe was part of the interdisciplinary interinstitutional team which won the Coventry University Research Team of the Year 2017 for the InVisible Difference project. Abbe frequently contributes to public consultations relevant to her research, eg EU "Multilateral Reform of Investment Dispute Resolution" (2017), UK BEIS "Clean Growth Strategy" (2017), UK Human Rights Committee inquiry "Defending Rights: attitudes to enforcement" (2018), the Strategic Priorities of the Scottish Human Rights Commission (2019) and the UK Parliament International Relations and Defence Committee "UNCLOS: fit for purpose in the 21st century?" (2021).
Since 2018 Abbe has been part of an interdisciplinary team exploring Marine Genetic Resources in the UN Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction negotiations and inspired by this has qualified as a PADI open water diver, and in 2021 engaged in new forms of public engagement through song at local and global levels with the Song of the Ocean, and in online enlightenment salons through the Royal Society of Edinburgh's "Tea and Talk".
Abbe published a monograph in 2012 with Edward Elgar Intellectual Property, Human Rights and Competition: Access to Essential Innovation and Technology, an edited collection in 2013 with Edward Elgar Environmental Technologies, Intellectual Property and Climate Change, with Charlotte Waelde an edited collection in 2018 with Edward Elgar Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and Creative Industries and in 2019 a monograph with Edward Elgar Intellectual Property, Climate Change and Technology. Her research has been supported by the Modern Law Review, the Clark Foundation for Legal Education, the British Academy (see website), the Carnegie Trust, the Wellcome Trust (see IGBE here), the British and Irish Law, Education and Technology Association and the Arts and Humanities Reseach Council (see eg InVisible Difference here and blog here).
Abbe has also contributed to leading textbooks in the intellectual property and information technology field, notably Contemporary Intellectual Property Law and Policy with Oxford University Press.
Research Areas
Accepting PhDs
I am currently accepting PhDs in Law.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.
Research Specialisms
- Information Technology
- Law
- Disability Studies
- Climate Change
- Dance and Culture
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
Current Research
Present projects involve culture, disability and heritage; innovation, energy and sustainability; access to marine genetic resources; and underpinning common themes and intertwining of relevant laws.
She is a member of EU Horizon 2020-funded MARBLES programme, a £6.37 million (€7.5 million), 5-year project that will develop new methods for the sustainable collection and use of biological resources from marine environments and assess their commercial potential.
She is a part of "Scientific knowledge across jurisdictions. Traceability, access and benefit sharing (ABS) and scientific policy in a multicultural world.” funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
She is a member of a UKRI-JSPS project exploring COVID and IP.
Find her work via Google Scholar and Researchgate
ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2222-4537
Abbe is delighted to receive requests regarding PhD supervision in any aspect of intellectual property and technology law.
Knowledge Exchange
Abbe is interested in PhD supervision in any aspect of technology and innovation law. Abbe is supervising projects incorporate governance and patents, and IP and climate change.
Supervision
My current supervision areas are: Law.
Abbe is interested in PhD supervision in any aspect of technology and innovation law. Abbe is supervising projects incorporate governance and patents, and IP and climate change.
Funding and Grants
MARBLES "Harnessing Marine Microbes for Drug Discovery and Sustainable Production for Fish and Crops" EU Horizon 2020 Award 101000392 @MARBLES_EU
"Scientific knowledge across jurisdictions. Traceability, access and benefit sharing (ABS), scientific policy" funded by RSE, in collaboration with Professor Marcel Jaspars (Chemistry) and Professor Michela Massimi (Edinburgh, PI)
"InVisible Difference" and "Resilience and Inclusion - Dancers as Agents of Change" funded by the AHRC, Co-I. P-I Professor Sarah Whatley, Coventry and other Co-Is Professor Charlotte Waelde (Exeter) and Dr Shawn Harmon (Edinburgh)
"Decision making across the information, technology and sustainability landscape: towards breadth and coherence" funded by British and Irish Law Education and Technology Association
"Identity, Governance and Bodily Extensions" funded by the Wellcome Trust
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
Intellectual Property
Professional Skills in Intellectual Property
- Publications
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Page 1 of 13 Results 1 to 10 of 124
What Should We Mean by ‘Open Access’?
Access and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources. Lawson, C., Humphries, F., Rourke, M. (eds.). RoutledgeChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersCommentary to the Commission’s proposal for the “AI Act” – Response to selected issues
Non-textual Forms: Web Publications and Websites- [ONLINE] https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12527-Artificial-intelligence-ethical-and-legal-requirements/F2665397_en
- [ONLINE] https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12527-Artificial-intelligence-ethical-and-legal-requirements_en
The Role of Patents and Licensing in the Governance of Human Genome Editing: A White Paper
Working Papers and Discussion Papers: Working PapersCombining Intellectual Property, Trade Secrets, Science and an Ecosystem-Focused Approach
Marine Biodiversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction. Nordquist, M., Long, R. (eds.). Brill, pp. 97-130, 34 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersRights to do, rights to prevent, and an intersected approach?: Lessons from intellectual property, information control and oil and gas
The Future of Intellectual Property. Gervais, D. J. (ed.). Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 105-127, 23 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersLaw, Sustainability and Technology: Welcoming COP to Scotland
Contributions to Conferences: PapersIntellectual Property Rights: Implications for Deep-Ocean Stewardship
Contributions to Specialist PublicationsBuilding Ambition for the High Seas Treaty: Marine Genetic Resources
Non-textual Forms: Digital or Visual ProductsRegulatory transitions in energy and law: the place of IP
Contributions to Conferences: PapersIntellectual Property Rights, the Public Interest and COVID-19
School of Law Blog, University of Aberdeen (School of Law Blog).Other Contributions: Other Contributions