James Kinnaird is a Singapore Registered Patent Attorney, Chartered (UK) and European Patent Attorney. He trained as an organic chemist and received his Batchelor’s degree in Chemistry from Glasgow University and his PhD from Cambridge University. James initially pursued a career as a medicinal chemist at Pfizer following postdoctoral work at Columbia University in New York. Realising the error of his ways, James joined the patent profession over 15 years ago.

James joined Marks & Clerk in Singapore in 2013 and has particular expertise in assisting clients with the drafting and prosecution of applications in the chemical, food, life sciences, garment, wearable technology, additive manufacturing, and materials fields. James has managed and implemented strategies for protecting inventions worldwide – tailoring these to the needs of the business. He also has particular expertise in the running of complex Freedom to Operate projects involving multiple products and multiple territories. James is also experienced in dealing with hearings at the Intellectual Property office of Singapore and in supporting the litigation of patents in Singapore’s courts, particularly in relation to the patent linkage system for drugs.

James has been a tutor for Singapore’s IP Academy in relation to invalidity and infringement and has been involved in marking and setting exams for the Singapore Patent Attorney examinations. James is also involved in the WIPO-Singapore Inventor Assistance Programme, supporting Singapore’s youth to obtain patent protection through this pro bono scheme.