Intellectual Property

Effective asset management is a key to success. Historically businesses have been very good at acquiring, protecting and managing hard assets such as inventory, equipment and buildings. They have been less diligent about how to manage or even identify their intangible assets such as intellectual property rights relating to brands, product designs and manufacturing processes - keys to maintaining their competitive advantage.

Every business has intellectual property assets, from your business name, to brands used on your products or providing your services, to copyright in advertising materials, to patent or design protection on products, equipment or processes, to software used in your business. While some rights arise automatically or by agreement, other rights can be lost if they are not properly protected and used.

We work with our clients to equip them with the knowledge required to proactively and strategically determine how to identify, perfect and manage their intellectual property assets which may include patents, trade-marks, copyright, industrial designs or trade secrets. We also assist with the development and implementation of strategies for the exploitation and enforcement of these rights.

The members of our Intellectual Property Practice Group provide a full range of services and work with other members of the firm having industry specific expertise including cosmetics, information technology, entertainment and sports, advertising, franchising, retail, financial and insurance industries.

Patent and Design Matters

intellectual property audits
preliminary patentability or infringement searches
providing opinions on validity or infringement
preparation, filing and prosecuting patent and design applications in Canada, the US and internationally
Portfolio management, including maintenance of pending applications and issued patents, and industrial designs
licensing and transfer of patents, industrial designs, know-how, trade secrets and technology

Trade-Mark Matters

preliminary registrability opinions for proposed trade-marks and trade names
monitoring and mark watching services, by mark, applicant or product/service
preparation, filing and prosecution of trade-mark applications in Canada, the US and internationally
trade-mark management and renewal

Copyright Matters

opinions regarding copyright protection, infringement and licensing
preparation of various agreements involving copyright including assignments and licences
preparation, filing and prosecution of copyright applications in Canada

Confidential Information & Trade Secrets

advising clients on strategies to preserve confidentiality
preparation of confidential disclosure agreements