Intellectual Property

 Modern technology has helped businesses to increase the rate at which they develop and commercialize their innovations. At the same time, it has also made it possible for competitors to engage in acts of unfair competition on an unprecedented scale. Every business, from a manufacturer of heavy industrial equipment to a designer of mobile applications, generates valuable intellectual property (IP) that requires protection in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.

As leading Canadian and international companies across a wide range of industries—life sciences, oil and gas, media and retail products, among others—have recognized the new challenges and opportunities presented by intellectual property, they have turned to the Blakes IP group, one of the largest and most highly respected in Canada, to protect their intangible assets.

Our lawyers possess wide-ranging subject matter expertise in patents, trade-marks, copyright, industrial designs and trade secrets. This expertise covers all aspects of prosecuting, commercializing and enforcing such rights. Consistently ranked as leading practitioners, our lawyers and agents have a host of advanced science and engineering degrees as well as deep industry experience ranging from nanotechnology and systems design to energy and pharmaceuticals. Blakes combines the specialized prosecution expertise of an IP boutique with the litigation experience, commercial knowledge and resources of a full-service business law firm. We offer the IP specialization that our clients need, together with the ability to deliver client-focused business solutions.

Working closely with our clients, Blakes lawyers and agents prepare and prosecute applications for a variety of IP rights such as patents, trade-marks and industrial designs. We conduct clearance searches and provide opinions on the full range of IP rights and infringement/validity issues. We advise on IP portfolio management, licensing arrangements, regulatory compliance and legislative interpretation. Our lawyers also draft licence agreements and a wide range of commercial documents relating to IP as well as conducting litigation in all areas of intellectual property.

In the global marketplace, we work collaboratively with IP lawyers throughout the world to protect our clients’ IP wherever they do business. From strategic advice on IP management to enforcement, we work with our clients to ensure that their IP is properly protected and leveraged to its full advantage.

Representative advanced science and engineering degrees for the Blakes IP group:

• Software and systems – electrical engineering, mathematics, nanotechnology, computer engineering, software engineering, systems design engineering
• Life sciences – bioinformatics, biology, biomedical engineering, biotechnology, genetics, oil and gas, microbiology, immunology, pharmacy
• Chemical – biochemistry, chemical engineering, chemistry
• Industrial/mechanical – civil engineering, clean energy, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, physics

Members of the IP group have also held key positions and actively participate at the committee level in the following organizations:

• American Bar Association
• American Intellectual Property Law Association
• Canadian Bar Association
• Centre for Intellectual Property Policy
• Intellectual Property Institute of Canada
• Intellectual Property Owners Association
• International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property
• International Federation of Intellectual Property Counsel
• International Trademark Association
• Licensing Executives Society
• Ontario Bar Association
• Quebec Bar Association
• The Advocates' Society
• Toronto Intellectual Property Group

• Chambers Canada: Canada's Leading Lawyers for Business
• Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business
• The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory
• Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada
• Benchmark Canada: The Definitive Guide to Canada's Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys (Intellectual Property, Arbitration and General Commercial)
• Who’s Who Legal: Business 
• Who’s Who Legal: Patent
• Who’s Who Legal: Trademark
• Who’s Who Legal: Life Sciences
• World Trademark Review 1000: The Guide to the World’s Leading Trademark Lawyers
• IAM Patent 1000: The World's Leading Patent Practitioners
• Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars
• The Best Lawyers in Canada