John has been listed as a patent expert in Legal Media Group's Guide to the World's Leading Patent Experts.

John has played a leading role in developing formal patent training courses around the world. He has trained a number of entrants to the profession and lectures at the Patent & Trademark Institute of Canada patent agency course at McGill University.

John is a fellow of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada and has served on its council. He is past president of the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys (FICPI) and president of FICPI's Communications Committee. He is a member of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) and co-chair of the Special Committee on Patent Agents for the American Intellectual Property Law Association.

Registered Trade-mark Agent (Canada) – 1981
Registered to practise before the United States Patent and Trademark Office – 1980
Registered Patent Agent (Canada) – 1979
Intermediate Examinations of Chartered Institute of Patent Agents – 1973
BSc (Mechanical Engineering), Lanchester Polytechnic, Coventry, England – 1970