Dr Aisling McMahon

    Law, ALL Institute

    Lecturer
    Assistant Professor

    New House
    46
    (01) 4747508

    Biography

    Dr McMahon joined Maynooth University in September 2018 from Durham University where she was an Assistant Professor in Biolaw and Co-Director of the Centre for Ethics Law and the Life Sciences (CELLS) (2017-2018). Prior to that, she was a lecturer in law at Newcastle University (2014-2017) and previously an AHRC research fellow on the 'Banking (On) the Brain' project at the University of Edinburgh.

    Aisling’s research specialises in medical and intellectual property law. She is particularly interested in the regulation of emerging health technologies and the relationship between intellectual property and bioethical concerns relating to emerging health-related technologies. She has published in leading specialist international journals in these fields including: Medical Law Review, Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, the International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law (IIC) and the European Intellectual Property Review. She has also published in leading generalist law journals including: Legal Studies, International and Comparative Law Quarterly and Human Rights Law Review. Aisling’s work has been funded by sources including: the British Academy/Leverhulme, Irish Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council and the Society of Legal Scholars.      

    In 2018, Dr McMahon co-founded the UK and Ireland Patent Scholars Network (with Dr Naomi Hawkins and Dr Karen Walsh) which currently has over 35 members drawn from patent practice and academia in the UK and Ireland. Aisling’s doctoral work at University of Edinburgh examined the role of morality provisions in patent law under the supervision of Prof Graeme Laurie and Gerard Porter. Aisling was awarded the Edinburgh University Principal’s Career Development Award to support this research.

    Aisling has been a visiting researcher at the University of Oxford (Caroline Miles Visiting Scholar), the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, and the Hastings Center. She was Managing Editor (2012-2013) and Editor-in-Chief (2013-2015) of SCRIPTed Journal of Law, Technology and Society, and is currently the Book Reviews Editor for Medical Law International  (2017-present). From 2010-2011, Aisling worked as a judicial researcher in the Four Courts, Dublin. She holds Bachelor of Civil Law (first class honours) and LLM (Law, Technology and Governance) (first class honours) degrees from the National University of Ireland Galway

    Peer Reviewed Journals

      Year Publication
    2020 'Patents, access to health and COVID-19: The role of compulsory and government-use licensing in Ireland'
    Aisling McMahon (2020) 'Patents, access to health and COVID-19: The role of compulsory and government-use licensing in Ireland'. Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 71 (3):331-359 [Details]
    2020 'Global equitable access to vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for Covid-19: The role of patents as private governance'
    Aisling McMahon (2020) 'Global equitable access to vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for Covid-19: The role of patents as private governance'. Journal of Medical Ethics, [Details]
    2020 'Biotechnology, Health and Patents as Private Governance Tools: The Good, the Bad and the Potential for Ugly?'
    Aisling McMahon (2020) 'Biotechnology, Health and Patents as Private Governance Tools: The Good, the Bad and the Potential for Ugly?'. Intellectual Property Quarterly, [Details]
    2020 'Genome editing: the dynamics of continuity, convergence, and change in the engineering of life'
    Martin P.;Morrison M.;Turkmendag I.;Nerlich B.;McMahon A.;deSaille S.;Barlett A. (2020) 'Genome editing: the dynamics of continuity, convergence, and change in the engineering of life'. New Genetics and Society, [DOI] [Details]
    2020 'Patents, Companies and Control: Ethics and the Patenting of Advanced Biotechnologies & Novel Beings?'
    Aisling McMahon (2020) 'Patents, Companies and Control: Ethics and the Patenting of Advanced Biotechnologies & Novel Beings?'. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, [Details]
    2020 'Patentability and De-extinct Animals in Europe: The Patented Woolly Mammoth'
    Aisling McMahon, David M Doyle (2020) 'Patentability and De-extinct Animals in Europe: The Patented Woolly Mammoth'. Journal of Law and the Biosciences, [Details]
    2020 'Responsiveness and the Role of Rights in Medical Law: Lessons from Montgomery'
    TT Arvind & Aisling McMahon (2020) 'Responsiveness and the Role of Rights in Medical Law: Lessons from Montgomery'. Medical Law Review, [Details]
    2020 'De-extinction, Regulation and Nature Conservation'
    Jessica Allen, David M Doyle, Shane McCorristine, Aisling McMahon (2020) 'De-extinction, Regulation and Nature Conservation'. Journal of Environmental Law, [Details]
    2019 'Gene Patents and the Marginalisation of Ethical Issues'
    Aisling McMahon (2019) 'Gene Patents and the Marginalisation of Ethical Issues'. European Intellectual Property Review, 41 (10):608-620 [Details]
    2019 'Big data governance needs more collective responsibility: The role of harm mitigation in the governance of data use in medicine and beyond'
    Aisling McMahon; Alena Buyx, Barbara Prainsack (2019) 'Big data governance needs more collective responsibility: The role of harm mitigation in the governance of data use in medicine and beyond'. Medical Law Review, [Details]
    2019 'After the 8th: Ireland, Abortion and International Law'
    Aisling McMahon & Bríd Ní Ghrainne (2019) 'After the 8th: Ireland, Abortion and International Law'. Medico-Legal Journal of Ireland, [full-text] [Details]
    2019 'Access to Abortion in Cases of Fatal Fetal Abnormality: A New Direction for the European Court of Human Rights?''
    Bríd Ní Ghráinne & Aisling McMahon (2019) 'Access to Abortion in Cases of Fatal Fetal Abnormality: A New Direction for the European Court of Human Rights?''. Human Rights Law Review, [full-text] [Details]
    2019 'Abortion in Northern Ireland and the ECHR: Reflections from the UK Supreme Court'
    Bríd Ní Ghráinne & Aisling McMahon (2019) 'Abortion in Northern Ireland and the ECHR: Reflections from the UK Supreme Court'. International and Comparative Law Quarterly, [full-text] [Details]
    2018 'Brexit and the Unitary Patent Package: A Further Compromised Future?'
    Aisling McMahon (2018) 'Brexit and the Unitary Patent Package: A Further Compromised Future?'. SCRIPted, 15 (2):175-208 [full-text] [Details]
    2017 'A Public International Law Approach to Safeguard Nationality for Surrogate Born Children'
    Bríd Ní Ghráinne & Aisling McMahon (2017) 'A Public International Law Approach to Safeguard Nationality for Surrogate Born Children'. Legal Studies, 37 (2):324-342 [DOI] [full-text] [Details]
    2017 'An Institutional Examination of the Implications of the Unitary Patent Package for the Morality Provisions: A Fragmented future too Far?'
    Aisling McMahon (2017) 'An Institutional Examination of the Implications of the Unitary Patent Package for the Morality Provisions: A Fragmented future too Far?'. IIC International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law, 48 (1):42-70 [DOI] [Details]
    2014 'Banking (on) the Brain: From Consent to Authorisation and the Transformative Potential of Solidarity'
    Shawn Harmon & Aisling McMahon (2014) 'Banking (on) the Brain: From Consent to Authorisation and the Transformative Potential of Solidarity'. Medical Law Review, 22 (4):572-605 [DOI] [Details]

    Book Chapters

      Year Publication
    2020 'Contractual Enforceability and Surrogacy Arrangements: Mapping the moral limits'
    Aisling McMahon (2020) 'Contractual Enforceability and Surrogacy Arrangements: Mapping the moral limits' In: TT Arvind & Jenny Steele (eds). Contract Law and the Legislature: Autonomy, Expectations and the Making of Legal Doctrine. London: Hart Publishing. [Details]
    2020 'Regulatory Authorities and Decision-Making in Health Research: The Institutional Dimension'
    Aisling McMahon (2020) 'Regulatory Authorities and Decision-Making in Health Research: The Institutional Dimension' In: Graeme Laurie, Edward Dove (eds). Cambridge Handbook of Health Research Regulation. London: Cambridge University Press. [Details]
    2020 'Commodification, control, and the contractualisation of the human body'
    TT Arvind and Aisling McMahon (2020) 'Commodification, control, and the contractualisation of the human body' In: Elodie Bertrand, Marie-Xavière Catto, Alicia Mornington (eds). The limits of the market: commodification of nature and body. Paris: Mare&Martin. [Details]
    2016 '‘Patents, Human Biobanks and Access to Health Benefits: Bridging the Public–Private Divide’'
    Aisling McMahon (2016) '‘Patents, Human Biobanks and Access to Health Benefits: Bridging the Public–Private Divide’' In: Jessica Lai and Antoinette Maget Dominicé (eds). Intellectual Property and Access to Im/Material Goods. UK: Edward Elgar. [Details]
    2014 'Children and Social Networking : An Irish Perspective'
    Aisling McMahon (2014) 'Children and Social Networking : An Irish Perspective' In: Paul Lambert (eds). Social Networking: Law, Rights and Policy. Dublin: Clarus Press. [Details]

    Other Journals

      Year Publication
    2011 'The Legal Status of Embryos in vitro in Ireland- A ‘precarious’ position'
    Aisling McMahon (2011) 'The Legal Status of Embryos in vitro in Ireland- A ‘precarious’ position' Medico Legal Journal of Ireland, :17-7. [Details]
    2010 'Journalists' Privilege in light of Mahon v. Keena'
    Aisling McMahon (2010) 'Journalists' Privilege in light of Mahon v. Keena' Irish Law Times, 28 . [Details]

    Published Reports

      Year Publication
    2012 Banking (On) the Brain: A Report on the Legal and Regulatory Concerns.
    A McMahon and S H E Harmon (2012) Banking (On) the Brain: A Report on the Legal and Regulatory Concerns. SCRIPTed Journal of Law and Society, Edinburgh. [Details]

    Blog

      Year Publication
    2020 Covid-19, Patents & Healthcare: The Need for A (Bio)ethics Space within Patent Law.
    Aisling McMahon (2020) Covid-19, Patents & Healthcare: The Need for A (Bio)ethics Space within Patent Law. Blog [Details]
    2018 Ireland’s 8th amendment is a breach of its own human rights commitments.
    Aisling McMahon & Bríd NíGhráinne (2018) Ireland’s 8th amendment is a breach of its own human rights commitments. Blog [Details]
    2017 Gene Patents and Access to Health: Speaking At But Not To Each Other?.
    Aisling McMahon (2017) Gene Patents and Access to Health: Speaking At But Not To Each Other?. Ethox Centre, University of Oxford: Blog [Details]

    Newspaper Articles

      Year Publication
    2019 How big data can affect your bank account – and life.
    Aisling McMahon, Alena Buyx and Barbara Prainsack (2019) How big data can affect your bank account – and life. UK: Newspaper Articles [Details]
    2019 Will a new policy mean more organ donations in Ireland?.
    Aisling McMahon (2019) Will a new policy mean more organ donations in Ireland?. Ireland: Newspaper Articles [DOI] [Details]

    Editorial

      Year Publication
    2013 Editorial: SCRIPTed: News and Reflection.
    Aisling McMahon and Laura Downey (2013) Editorial: SCRIPTed: News and Reflection. Edinburgh: Editorial [Details]

    Report

      Year Publication
    2012 Banking (On) the Brain: A Report on the Legal and Regulatory Concerns.
    Aisling McMahon & Shawn Harmon (2012) Banking (On) the Brain: A Report on the Legal and Regulatory Concerns. Report [Details]

    Book Review

      Year Publication
    2017 Book Review: Surrogacy, Law and Human Rights.
    Aisling McMahon (2017) Book Review: Surrogacy, Law and Human Rights. Book Review [Details]
    2012 Law and the Regulation of Medicines.
    Aisling McMahon (2012) Law and the Regulation of Medicines. Book Review [Details]
    2012 Uma Suthersan, Graham Dutfield & Kit Boey Chen (Eds), Innovation without Patents: Harnessing the Creative Spirit in a Diverse World.
    Aisling McMahon (2012) Uma Suthersan, Graham Dutfield & Kit Boey Chen (Eds), Innovation without Patents: Harnessing the Creative Spirit in a Diverse World. Book Review [Details]

    Conference Contributions

      Year Publication
    2020 Biotechnology, Patents and Licensing for ‘Ethical Use’: A Regulatory Opportunity?.
    Aisling McMahon (2020) Biotechnology, Patents and Licensing for ‘Ethical Use’: A Regulatory Opportunity?. [Oral Presentation], Health law and ethics (Inaugural Seminar – Invited), Queen’s University Belfast , 27-FEB-20 - 27-FEB-20 [Details]
    2019 ‘Patents and Ethically Contentious Biotechnologies: A Global Regulatory Approach via International Patent Law.
    Aisling McMahon (2019) ‘Patents and Ethically Contentious Biotechnologies: A Global Regulatory Approach via International Patent Law. [Oral Presentation], American Society of International Law, Brooklyn University New York , 07-NOV-19 - 09-NOV-19 [Details]
    2019 ‘Biotechnology and Patent Licensing for ‘Ethical’ Use’.
    Aisling McMahon (2019) ‘Biotechnology and Patent Licensing for ‘Ethical’ Use’. [Invited Oral Presentation], Durham CELLS Research Seminar, Durham University , 30-OCT-19 [Details]
    2019 Biotechnology & Patent Licensing for ‘Ethical’ Use: A Proposal for Regulatory Intervention.
    Aisling McMahon (2019) Biotechnology & Patent Licensing for ‘Ethical’ Use: A Proposal for Regulatory Intervention. [Invited Oral Presentation], Patents and Emerging Technologies Workshop, Wellcome Trust, London , 19-NOV-19 - 20-NOV-19 [Details]
    2019 Contractualisation, commodification and the human body.
    TT Arvind and Aisling McMahon (2019) Contractualisation, commodification and the human body. [Oral Presentation], World Interdisciplinary Network for Institutional Research, University of Lund, Sweden , 21-SEP-19 [Details]
    2019 “Patent licensing for ‘ethical’ use: A missed regulatory opportunity?”.
    Aisling McMahon (2019) “Patent licensing for ‘ethical’ use: A missed regulatory opportunity?”. [Oral Presentation], ATRIP, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee , 26-AUG-19 [Details]
    2019 Patents and De-extinction.
    Aisling McMahon and David Doyle (2019) Patents and De-extinction. [Oral Presentation], Patent Scholars Network Workshop, Maynooth University , 20-JUN-19 - 21-JUN-19 [Details]
    2019 Gene Patents and the Marginalisation of Ethical Issues.
    Aisling McMahon (2019) Gene Patents and the Marginalisation of Ethical Issues. [Invited Oral Presentation], RIBS/CEBIL Symposium, Centre for Advanced Studies in Biomedical Innovation Law (CEBIL), University of Copenhagen Faculty of Law , 12-JUN-19 - 12-JUN-19 [Details]
    2019 Patent Licensing for ‘Ethical’ Use: A missed regulatory opportunity?.
    Aisling McMahon (2019) Patent Licensing for ‘Ethical’ Use: A missed regulatory opportunity?. [Invited Oral Presentation], Regulation and Innovation in the Biosciences(RIBS), Centre for Advanced Studies in Biomedical Innovation Law at the University of Copenhagen Faculty of Law , 10-JUN-19 - 11-JUN-19 [Details]
    2019 Biotechnology and Patents as Private Governance Tools?.
    Aisling McMahon (2019) Biotechnology and Patents as Private Governance Tools?. [Oral Presentation], Patent Scholars Network Workshop, University of Exeter, United Kingdom , 11-APR-19 - 12-APR-19 [Details]
    2019 ‘Contracts and the Human Body: Mapping the moral limits’.
    Aisling McMahon (2019) ‘Contracts and the Human Body: Mapping the moral limits’. [Invited Oral Presentation], Contract Law and the Legislature Workshop, University of York, United Kingdom , 11-JAN-19 - 12-JAN-19 [Details]
    2018 ‘Emerging Biotechnologies, Morality & Overlapping Supra-national frameworks in the ‘European Patent System’.
    Aisling McMahon (2018) ‘Emerging Biotechnologies, Morality & Overlapping Supra-national frameworks in the ‘European Patent System’. [Refereed Abstracts], American Society of International Law Research Forum, UCLA, Los Angeles , 09-NOV-18 - 11-NOV-18 [Details]
    2018 Patents as Private Governance Tools: The Good, The Bad and The Potential for Ugly?.
    Aisling McMahon (2018) Patents as Private Governance Tools: The Good, The Bad and The Potential for Ugly?. [Invited Oral Presentation], Regulating the Tyrell Corporation: Company Law and the emergence of Novel Beings, Wellcome Trust, London , 25-OCT-18 - 26-OCT-18 [Details]
    2018 Commodification, control, and the contractualisation of the human body.
    TT Arvind and Aisling McMahon (2018) Commodification, control, and the contractualisation of the human body. [Oral Presentation], The Limits of the Market: Commodification of nature and body (Interdisciplinary Workshop), University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne , 13-SEP-18 - 14-SEP-18 [Details]
    2018 Emerging Biotechnologies, Morality and Overlapping Supra-national frameworks in the “European Patent System”: Too Many Cooks?.
    Aisling McMahon (2018) Emerging Biotechnologies, Morality and Overlapping Supra-national frameworks in the “European Patent System”: Too Many Cooks?. [Oral Presentation], Society of Legal Scholars Conference, Queen Mary University of London , 04-SEP-18 - 04-SEP-18 [Details]
    2018 Gene Patents and Access to Health: A Critical Comparative Analysis.
    Aisling McMahon (2018) Gene Patents and Access to Health: A Critical Comparative Analysis. [Oral Presentation], Works in Progress Intellectual Property Law Colloquium, Case Western University Ohio , 16-FEB-18 [Details]
    2018 Gene Patents and Access to Health: Bridging an Institutional Divide’.
    Aisling McMahon (2018) Gene Patents and Access to Health: Bridging an Institutional Divide’. [Invited Oral Presentation], Oxford Intellectual Property Invited Speakers’ Series, St Peters College Oxford University , 01-FEB-18 [Details]
    2018 Montgomery and the Limits of Autonomy.
    Aisling McMahon and TT Arvind (2018) Montgomery and the Limits of Autonomy. [Invited Oral Presentation], Durham CELLS Seminar, Durham University , 29-JAN-18 [Details]
    2017 Patents, the Human Body, and the Biotechnology Directive 98/44EC’.
    Aisling McMahon (2017) Patents, the Human Body, and the Biotechnology Directive 98/44EC’. [Invited Oral Presentation], The Everyday Cyborg: Mapping Legal, Ethical, & Conceptual Workshop, Newcastle University , 08-DEC-17 [Details]
    2017 Gene Patents and Access to Medicines’.
    Aisling McMahon (2017) Gene Patents and Access to Medicines’. [Invited Oral Presentation], World Interdisciplinary Network for Institutional Research, Utrecht University , 15-SEP-17 [Details]
    2017 Montgomery and the Limits of Autonomy’.
    Aisling McMahon & TT Arvind (2017) Montgomery and the Limits of Autonomy’. [Oral Presentation], Society of Legal Scholars Conference, University College Dublin , 07-SEP-17 [Details]
    2016 Ireland, Abortion and the European Convention on Human Rights’.
    Aisling McMahon; Bríd Ní Ghráinne (2016) Ireland, Abortion and the European Convention on Human Rights’. [Invited Oral Presentation], Sheffield Law School Research Seminar, Sheffield Law School , 23-NOV-16 [Details]
    2016 Ireland, Abortion, and International Law.
    Aisling McMahon; Bríd Ní Ghráinne (2016) Ireland, Abortion, and International Law. [Oral Presentation], American Society of International Law, Mid-Year Meeting,, University of Washington, Seattle , 12-NOV-16 [Details]
    2016 The Limits of Judicial Review for Transnational Governance: A Case Study of the European Patent Office.
    Aisling McMahon (2016) The Limits of Judicial Review for Transnational Governance: A Case Study of the European Patent Office. [Oral Presentation], Public Law Reform Now Conference, University of Sussex , 21-SEP-16 [Details]
    2016 Embryonic Stem Cells, Morality and Overlapping Supra-national frameworks in the European Patent System: Too many cooks?.
    Aisling McMahon (2016) Embryonic Stem Cells, Morality and Overlapping Supra-national frameworks in the European Patent System: Too many cooks?. [Oral Presentation], International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property (ATRIP) Law Congress, Jagiellonian University, Kraków , 28-JUN-16 [Details]
    2016 The Myriad Gene Patent Cases and Controversy: Balancing Public and Private Interests in the patentability of health-related inventions’.
    Aisling McMahon (2016) The Myriad Gene Patent Cases and Controversy: Balancing Public and Private Interests in the patentability of health-related inventions’. [Oral Presentation], International Association of Bioethics (IAB) World Congress, University of Edinburgh , 15-JUN-16 [Details]
    2015 Whose Subjects, and Subject to Whose Laws? Stateless Children’.
    Aisling McMahon & Bríd Ní Ghráínne (2015) Whose Subjects, and Subject to Whose Laws? Stateless Children’. [Oral Presentation], American Society of International Law, Research Forum, American University Washington College of Law , 24-OCT-15 [Details]
    2015 Stateless Children in the Context of International Surrogacy Agreements’.
    Aisling McMahon (2015) Stateless Children in the Context of International Surrogacy Agreements’. [Oral Presentation], Society of Legal Scholars Conference, University of York , 03-SEP-15 [Details]

    Honours and Awards

      Year Title Awarding Body
    2014 Principal's Career Development Scholarship University of Edinburgh
    2016 ESRC Impact Accelerator Fund, Newcastle University (Co-Investigator) Economic Social and Research Council (ESRC) (UK)
    2016 Faculty Research Fund, Newcastle University (Co-Investigator) Newcastle University
    2017 British Academy/Leverhulme Grant British Academy/Leverhulme
    2017 Caroline Miles Visiting Scholarship Ethox Centre, University of Oxford
    2008 Michael MacNamara Scholarship for LLM Law, Technology & Governance (NUIG) RDJ Glynn Solicitors, Galway

    Reviews

      Journal Role
    Scripted Editor-in-Chief

    Teaching Interests

    Over the years, Aisling has taught a range of law modules in the NUI Galway, University of Edinburgh, Newcastle University and Durham University.  She obtained the Newcastle Teaching Award (2015)  a teaching qualification comprising 40 credits at Masters level and she is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK). Aisling was nominated for Taught Supervisor of the Year and Innovative Teaching Methods awards in Newcastle University’s Teaching Excellence Awards 2015-2016.