Sir Colin Birss
Sir Colin Birss was called to the Bar in 1990 and practised in intellectual property law. He was Standing Counsel for the Comptroller 2003-2008. In 2008 he took silk and also became Deputy Chair of the Copyright Tribunal. In 2010 he was appointed as a Specialist Circuit Judge sitting in the Patents County Court (now IPEC). In 2013 he was appointed to the High Court, Chancery Division. He served as Supervising Judge for the Business and Property Courts on the Midlands, Western and Wales Circuits from 2017-2019 and in 2019 became Judge in Charge of the Patents Court.
Sir Colin Birss is an independent judicial member of the EPO Boards of Appeal Committee, serves on the Advisory Board of Judges for the WIPO Judicial Institute, is General Editor of Terrell on the Law of Patents, and is a Council member of the UK Foundation for Science and Technology.
He was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal on 25 January 2021, Deputy Head of Civil Justice in 2020 and Lead Judge for Artificial Intelligence.
He was sworn in as Chancellor of the High Court on 3 November 2025 and became the first President of the Business and Property Division on 1 October 2026. He will become Master of the Rolls on 1 November 2026.
Related guidance 5
Other guidance whose text is closest in subject to this document, found by similarity of wording rather than by citation.
- Mr Justice Birt2026-09-29
- Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice2022-08-24
- Lord Justice Green, Senior Presiding Judge2026-03-25
- Lord Justice Cobb2026-04-23
- Mr Justice Marcus Smith2022-11-23