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About Chris

Chris is the Practice Group Leader of the Intellectual Property group. He represents clients in the acquisition, enforcement and exploitation of all forms of intellectual property. His practice focuses on providing strategic advice to clients concerning their intellectual property portfolios and providing litigation support for infringement and misappropriation actions. He devotes a significant part of his practice to negotiating the intellectual property aspects of corporate mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic licensing.

Chris is also a registered patent and trademark agent. He drafts and prosecutes patent applications for electrical, mechanical (including medical devices), financial services (fintech), software and information-technology-related inventions and, more recently, AI. Chris also provides strategic branding advice to both local and global clients.

Select Experience

Chris has advised:

  • A global food company on its C$1-billion acquisition of a foreign competitor's Canadian business, including providing strategic advice on a complex brand ownership/licence-back arrangement

  • A leading Canadian retailer on its global branding strategy and several-hundred-million-dollar acquisition of a number of global brands, including one of Europe's top sportswear companies

  • An aerospace company on its divestment of significant patents and technology to a foreign purchaser

  • Nortel Networks Limited (NNL) on all intellectual property aspects such as trademarks and branding relating to its divestment of assets and businesses, including on its record-breaking C$4.5-billion sale of 6,000 patents to a consortium comprising Apple Inc., EMC Corporation, Ericsson, Microsoft, Research In Motion (now BlackBerry) and Sony, and negotiating aspects of the precursor sale agreement with Google

  • One of Canada's leading banks on the technical aspects of DataTreasury's multimillion-dollar patent infringement claim relating to the electronic imaging and reconciliation of cheques. This is the most significant litigation relating to non-practising entities (sometimes referred to as "patent trolls") in Canada

  • A global incontinence products company on an intellectual property portfolio assessment and patent infringement risk in a number of their foreign acquisitions, including providing freedom-to-operate analyses of over 3,600 European patents

Awards & Recognition

Chris is recognized as a leading lawyer in the following publications:

  • The Best Lawyers in Canada – 2013–2025 (Intellectual Property Law)

  • Lexpert Special Edition: Technology and Health Sciences 2024

  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (2024: Repeatedly Recommended – Computer & IT Law; 2014–2019, 2021–2023: Intellectual Property/Computer & IT Law)

  • The Legal 500 Canada – 2021–2024 (Intellectual Property)

  • Chambers Canada: Canada's Leading Lawyers for Business 2024 (Intellectual Property)

  • Who’s Who Legal: Global 2023 (Intellectual Property – Patents)

  • Who's Who Legal: Canada (2023: Intellectual Property – Patents; 2015–2017, 2021–2022: Patents)

  • IAM Patent 1000: The World's Leading Patent Professionals 2022 (Intellectual Property Transactions)

  • Managing Intellectual Property's IP Stars 2022 (Transactions Star)

  • WTR 1000: The World's Leading Trademark Professionals 2021

Professional Activities

Chris is actively involved in the Intellectual Property bar. He is also an active member of The International Trademark Association, The Toronto Intellectual Property Group, The American Intellectual Property Law Association, The Licensing Executives Society, the Canadian Bar Association and the Ontario Bar Association.

Chris is an adjunct professor of the commercialization of intellectual property course at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Publications
Education
Registered Canadian Trademark Agent – 2010
Registered Canadian Patent Agent – 2002
Registered to Practice Before the United States Patent and Trademark Office – 2002
Admitted to the Ontario Bar – 2000
LLB, University of Victoria – 1998
MASc (Engineering), University of Toronto – 1995
BASc (Engineering), University of Toronto – 1991
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