Professor Abbe Brown

The professor of intellectual property law at the University of Aberdeen is among the 2025 cohort celebrating leading minds from across science, the arts, business, public life, and academia.

The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), Scotland’s National Academy was established in 1783 for ‘the advancement of learning and useful knowledge’. Its 1,800-strong fellowship provides independent expert advice to policymakers and inspire the next generation of innovative thinkers.

Professor Brown’s research explores the levels of intersection between intellectual property and other legal fields and the possible impact on key societal challenges including health, digital technology, disability, climate change and ocean governance. She maintains strong links with the legal profession and with policy making in Scotland.

She said: “I am honoured to become a Fellow of the Royal Society Edinburgh. I look forward to contributing to its ongoing impact in addressing key societal challenges, in Scotland and more widely.”

President of the RSE, Professor Sir John Ball PRSE, said: “It is my sincere pleasure to welcome each of our new fellows – from the worlds of academia, public service, business, and the arts – to Scotland’s National Academy.

“They represent excellence in their fields and will reinforce our ability to tackle the challenges that Scotland, and indeed the wider world, faces now and in the future.

“Across a range of disciplines, they have each shown an unshakeable commitment to their research, work or craft, and it is exactly this superlative level of accomplishment that makes them belong as Fellows of the RSE.

“I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all of our new Fellows, and I hope they will avail themselves of all that our great National Academy has to offer them.”