Canada's intellectual property firm
Smart & Biggar is widely recognized as Canada’s leading firm for intellectual property. With offices in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary, and over 100 lawyers, patent agents and trademark agents, we are also the largest firm focused purely on IP and related specialty areas.
Consistently ranked at the top of the field by our clients and peers, we pride ourselves on providing strategic IP counsel, insights and solutions for all of our clients. We have a storied history and tradition of providing the highest quality of IP advisory services and have filed more patent and trademark applications than any firm in Canada.
Trusted by the world’s leading companies and innovators
At Smart & Biggar, we have the honour of working with many of the most important innovators and brand owners across Canada and around the world, and are proud to have supported our clients on the road to market leadership — from start-up companies in emerging growth sectors to multinational corporations, as well as innovators at universities and other research institutions — advising them on their most critical and complex IP matters.
Our highly skilled team of lawyers, patent agents and trademark agents have deep experience in a broad range of industries in protecting, enforcing and growing our clients’ IP. We combine sophisticated legal acumen with technical knowledge alongside a deep understanding of our clients’ businesses to provide tailored IP solutions that achieve exceptional results and create value throughout the entire product and innovation cycle.
In addition to being the leading firm in Canada for Patents and Trademarks, our firm offers clients specialized expertise in the following areas:
IP Management & Strategic Counselling: One of the firm’s core strengths is proven expertise advising and counselling clients on the development and management of a valuable IP portfolio and strategy. Our team works closely with clients to perform strategic IP and technology audits, identify risks and significant opportunities, and advise clients on the best course of action to leverage their rights.
IP Litigation: We offer clients a team of highly effective and efficient litigators and no other Canadian firm can claim a more distinguished and successful record. Our firm routinely handles Canada’s most commercially important and technically complex intellectual property cases. Many of our victories on behalf of our clients are Canadian precedents, and we have represented clients in the Supreme Court of Canada on more than 50 occasions.
Licensing & IP Transactions: Our IP licensing and transactional lawyers advise, structure and negotiate a wide variety of domestic and international M&A, IPOs, financing and technology licensing deals and other intellectual property-related transactions. With extensive experience in developing and managing successful revenue-generating licensing programs as we combine business know-how with sophisticated legal and technical expertise.
Life Sciences: Our Life Sciences practice is one of the leading and most experienced teams in Canada for lifecycle management. We are experts in patent prosecution, as well as related due diligence, IP transactions and licensing, litigation and regulatory issues. We offer our clients technical expertise — with all of our professionals having a scientific education and experience in areas such as biology, physiology, molecular cell and microbiology, immunology, biochemistry, developmental genetics, pharmacy, and across the chemical field, and with biotechnology in industrial applications.
Pharmaceutical Litigation: Our group is at the forefront of many of the most important judicial decisions relating to pharmaceutical innovation, and works closely with our Life Sciences patent team throughout a product lifecycle in order to maximize protection. We have been involved in representing patentees against subsequent entrants in more than 200 proceedings under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations, as well as representing innovators in patent infringement and impeachment actions.
Regulatory & Compliance: Part of our Life Sciences practice, we have extensive experience understanding and managing issues that arise at the patent-regulatory interface. The group advises and counsels on issues arising under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations, such as patent listing; data protection under the Food and Drugs Act and related regulations; and pricing and jurisdictional issues before the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board.
Smart & Biggar proudly operates as part of the IPH Limited group, under its own brand and independent from other IPH member firms.
