Chris McDonald MP appointed UK minister with responsibility for IP

Chris McDonald MP has been confirmed as the UK minister with responsibility for intellectual property as part of his role as Minister of State for Science, Innovation and Investment.

Chris McDonald MP has been confirmed as the new UK minister with responsibility for intellectual property.

The appointment comes after McDonald became Minister of State (Minister for Science, Innovation and Investment) jointly in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST) on July 21, 2026, and the Department of Health and Social Care on July 23.

His ministerial portfolio includes responsibility for research and development, UK science, research and innovation, life sciences, tech investment, scale-ups, access to finance, international tech, engineering biology, and quantum.

The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) and Copyright Tribunal are also among the public bodies within his portfolio.

UKIPO CEO Adam Williams welcomed the appointment: “I am looking forward to working for Chris McDonald MP as the Minister with responsibility for intellectual property within the newly formed Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.”

Williams said IP was “central to the UK’s creative and innovative strengths,” helping people and businesses protect ideas, attract investment, and bring new products, services, and content to market.

From steel industry to government

McDonald was elected as the MP for Stockton North in July 2024.

Before entering Parliament, he spent 20 years working in the steel industry, focusing on research. He joined Tata Steel’s research division as a laboratory manager in 2008 and, in 2014, led the divestment of the Materials Processing Institute from Tata Steel UK, subsequently becoming its CEO.

He studied chemical engineering at the University of Cambridge, where he obtained BA and MEng degrees, and subsequently completed an MBA at the University of Warwick. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

McDonald previously served as Minister for Industry in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Business and Trade from September 11, 2025, until July 21, 2026.

IP within wider science and innovation portfolio

The appointment places IP within a ministerial portfolio spanning research, innovation, technology investment, and technology transfer.

Other public bodies within McDonald’s responsibilities include UK Research and Innovation, Innovate UK, the Advanced Research and Invention Agency and the National Physical Laboratory. His responsibilities also include the Government Office for Technology Transfer and the Government Office for Science.

The combination of responsibilities places intellectual property alongside several areas directly connected to the development and commercialization of new technologies.

For the UK’s patent community, McDonald’s appointment means that responsibility for the UKIPO now sits within a portfolio covering both the UK’s innovation ecosystem and its IP system.

His immediate priorities for intellectual property have not yet been announced.

However, with the UKIPO and Copyright Tribunal formally within his responsibilities, McDonald will have a role in overseeing the government’s work on intellectual property as part of his wider science, innovation, and investment portfolio.

For patent practitioners, the appointment provides a new ministerial point of contact for an IP portfolio closely connected to the UK’s broader science, technology, and innovation strategy.

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