Smart & Biggar

Smart & Biggar

6y

Smart & Biggar makes a strong showing with 17 practitioners listed in Who’s Who Legal: Canada 2019 Who’s Who Legal: Canada recently published their 2019 guide, naming 17 Smart & Biggar lawyers and agents among Canada’s leading experts in Patents, Patent Agency, Trademarks, and Life Sciences. Of the list of our highly successful practitioners, four were awarded with the additional recognition of being “Most Highly Regarded”. Gunars Giakis, received this distinction as only one of four Canadian Life Sciences Practitioners. David Schwartz and Matthew Zischka were two of four Canadians to be recognized as “Most Highly Regarded” for patents, and Mark Evens was one of four Canadians to achieve this ranking for Trademarks....Show more

Smart & Biggar

6y

Smart & Biggar selected by Canadian Lawyer as a top 10 IP Boutiques Smart & Biggar is pleased to share that Canadian Lawyer has included Smart & Biggar on their list of top 10 Intellectual Property Boutiques in Canada. In their editorial review, Canadian Lawyer noted that in 2020 brand owners will need to work more closely with outside counsel at intellectual property firms for help to guard against “brand trolls” and to proactively manage the impact of recent government reforms to the Trademarks Act....Show more

Smart & Biggar

6y

Canadian Trademarks Office issues new limits on extensions of time for responding to office actions Prior to January 17, 2020, extensions of time were readily available during Canadian trademark prosecution. A single six-month extension could be secured without providing any substantive reasons. Further six-month extensions could be secured by demonstrating exceptional circumstances. That has now changed as a result of a January 17, 2020 Practice Notice....Show more

Smart & Biggar

6y

Ask the Expert: How cannabis companies can protect intellectual property Sophisticated cannabis companies are already focused on protecting their intellectual property, says Alice Tseng. “And the really, really sophisticated ones would have thought about it several years ago,” said the partner at Smart & Biggar LLP who is also a registered patent agent and pharmacist. For those just starting to look at protecting their cannabis-related inventions now, Ms. Tseng has some advice that could help make up for lost time. In her own words – lightly edited for length and clarity – Ms. Tseng provides three IP-related tips she says everyone involved in the legal cannabis industry ought to keep in mind....Show more