A professional man with dark hair and glasses wearing a white shirt and a striped tie, smiling against a gray background.

James D Brown

Director, Patents, Head of Pricing

Aberdeen

James Brown has headed up the Energy Team in Aberdeen, the energy capital of Europe, since 1995. As a European Patent Attorney, his practice deals with all aspects of intellectual property law – patents, trade marks, copyrights, registered and unregistered design rights and trade secrets/confidentiality matters. There’s a specific emphasis on UK/European and overseas prosecution, opposition practice (including negotiating settlement of disputes) and client advisory work, including IP portfolio acquisition and development.

With extensive expertise in most areas of intellectual property law, James is actively involved in mentoring colleagues in a number of offices throughout the Murgitroyd network. He has spoken at numerous seminars, and spends considerable time advising clients on how to protect their key technology, manage their portfolios and handle conflicts with competitors from a commercial point of view.

James has an extensive background in various technological fields, particularly in relation to the energy industry, including renewables (tidal/wave/wind power) and oil and gas. He has been involved in a variety of patent matters (including litigation cases) relating to downhole tools and processes like wellbore cleanup tools, flow diverters, sand screens, drill bits, drilling jars and energisers.

He is also very experienced with sliding sleeves, multi-lateral well equipment and many more hydrocarbon extraction areas, as well as general mechanical and engineering technology in the agricultural industry.

James is Associate Member of the University of Aberdeen Centre for Commercial Law.

The logo of the Financial Times features the bold initials "FT" in black on a beige background, with "Financial Times" written below in dark blue.The SIAAM 300 logo features three red horizontal lines next to bold black and red text, with a minimalist design highlighting the brand name.IAM 300 Global Leaders 2025 logo with bold black and red text on a dark background."IP STARS logo featuring bold dark blue text with a star in the letter 'A,' and yellow 'from Managing IP' text below, on a white background."

Sector expertise

  • Mechanical and electrical engineering
  • Oil and gas
  • Renewables
  • Energy
  • Subsea Technologies

Key contributor to the team recognised as Highly Recommended by WIPR

WIPR UK Patent Rankings 2025

Key contributor to the team recognised in the Top Patent Law Firm Rankings

The Patent Lawyer Magazine - 2024 & 2025

His energy sector knowledge is second-to-none, enabling him to support a much wider commercial IP strategy.

Legal 500 2024 Research Insights

He is responsive and available, which allows projects to be driven forward quickly and takes pressure off of professional collaborators.

Legal 500 2024 Research Insights

A standout partner in the practice is James Brown. He shows a level of dedication to his clients which puts him amongst the most hard-working individuals that I have encountered in professional services.

Legal 500 2024 Research Insights

Recognised by IAM, Strategy 300 Global Leader, 2024

Ranked in Energy/fuel, Engineering/construction, IAM/IC, IP management consultancy, Legal, Licensing

Key Member of the Patent Prosecution Team awarded Tier 1

Managing IP, IP Stars Firm ranking 2024 & 2025 - Patent Prosecution Scotland

A standout partner in the practice is James Brown. He shows a level of dedication to his clients which puts him amongst the most hard-working individuals that I have encountered in professional services. He is responsive and available which allows projects to be driven forward quickly and takes pressure off of professional collaborators.

Partner, Leading UK Law Firm

My work with Murgitroyd has centred around technology deployed in the energy sector. They have exceptional strength in the area. Not only is their technical and legal expertise first-class, they also understand the sector from a commercial and operational point of view.

This allows them to give tailored support to meet their clients' needs.

Partner, UK Law Firm

I am very happy with all the contents of the IP Audit. I only need to mention that I noticed a remarkable willingness to help, and an outstanding professionalism.

Scottish Enterpreneur

Thank you very much for the update and for all of your help. We are very excited to be able to now show the tool off in all its glory.

Finance Director and Co-Owner, Tooling Manufacturer

Many thanks James, we appreciate the effort at short notice. Our design is starting to gain interest from other companies and this will allow us to talk to them with more confidence.

Research & Development Manager on grant of an application, Oil & Gas Company

Key contributor to our Mechanical Engineering Team awarded Gold by the Financial Times

Financial Times European Leading Patent Law Firms - 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 & 2025

Insights

All insights
The logo of the Financial Times features the bold initials "FT" in black on a beige background, with "Financial Times" written below in dark blue.
"IP STARS logo featuring bold dark blue text with a star in the letter 'A,' and yellow 'from Managing IP' text below, on a white background."
The logo of "The Legal 500" featuring the publication name in stylized text with a black and dark gray color scheme.
The SIAAM 300 logo features three red horizontal lines next to bold black and red text, with a minimalist design highlighting the brand name.
IAm 300 Global Leaders 2025 logo with black and red text and design elements on a gray background.
The SIAM 1000 logo features bold black and red text with three curved red lines on the left, creating a modern, dynamic design.
WTR 1000 logo with blue and black text and beige horizontal lines on a transparent background.
Logo featuring the words "LEXULOGY" and "INDEX" with a design of six dark circles arranged in two columns on the left side.
A round badge with a white interior and gold border, featuring a gold eagle emblem, Chinese characters on a red ribbon, and the text "2024" at the bottom.
The Déla Marken logo features three black stars with shooting lines inside a red circle and the words "DÉCIDEURS MAGAZINE" in bold black and red text below.
Logo for WIPR 2024 featuring the word "Diversity" and the phrase "Influential Woman in IP" on a teal background.
LBG logo featuring a purple circle with white text, alongside "Legal Benchmarking" and "Social Impact Awards 2024" in black and orange text.
A colorful icon with six petal-like shapes in blue, purple, green, and orange surrounding a central circle, with "IP INCLUSIVE" text and a tagline about diversity and inclusion.
A logo with interconnected circles forming a stylized design, accompanied by the text "ADAPT.legal" beneath it.
European Patent Pipeline Program (EPPP) logo with bold pink and dark blue text on a gray background.
Logo for the Legal Sustainability Alliance featuring the acronym "LSA" with leaf and wave designs, and text indicating membership for 2024.
A badge with a blue background, white text reads "Cyber Essentials Certified" with a green checkmark and a stylized checkmark graphic.
Cyber Essentials Plus logo with a blue and green checkmark next to the text on a dark background.
A stylized swoosh design in blue, green, and yellow colors with the text "bvea" and the tagline "invested in a better future" beneath it.
Green globe with swirling lines next to the text "United Kingdom Best Managed Companies" in black.