The spotlight is on Québec’s best intellectual property lawyers as Lexpert unveils the results of our comprehensive yearly peer survey. See the complete lineup of the province’s most recommended lawyers and law firms in the field in our practice area rankings list.
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) defines intellectual property as one’s legal rights resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary and artistic fields. Intellectual property law deals with the rules for securing and enforcing these legal rights.
In our survey, intellectual property law involves the provision of advice and representation in all matters relating to origination, exploitation and protection of inventions, patents, trademarks, copyright, moral rights, industrial designs, brand names, trade secrets and data.
Most frequently recommended intellectual property lawyers
Laurent Carrière
Law firm: Robic, LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1978
City: Montréal
Laurent Carrière is partner at Robic, LLP, a Québec-based law firm specializing in intellectual property and business law. He devotes his practice to trademarks and copyrights, with an emphasis on prosecution, litigation and alternative dispute resolution. Carrière also serves as counsel on IP assets management and publishing, entertainment and information and communications technology law. He is a registered trademark agent and is recognized as one of the top intellectual property lawyers in the country. Carrière serves as editor-in-chief in several IP publications and is a frequent lecturer on the matter.
François Guay
Law firm: Smart & Biggar
Year called to the Bar: 1982
City: Montréal
François Guay is the managing partner at Smart & Biggar’s Montreal office. He boasts more than 35 years of in-depth intellectual property litigation experience and is among the most experienced IP litigators in Canada. Guay has appeared before the courts of Québec and the Federal Court of Canada. He is a fellow at the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, and a member of the Canadian Bar Association, INTA and the International Wine Lawyers Association. LLL. Guay is also a registered trademark agent. His firm is one of the country’s leading IP firms.
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Consistently recommended intellectual property lawyers
Catherine Bergeron
Law firm: Robic, LLP
Year called to the Bar: 2001
City: Montréal
Catherine Bergeron is a partner at Robic, LLP. She specializes in all areas of trademark law, including prosecution, litigation and the strategic management of trademark portfolios. As part of her core practice areas, Bergeron has developed an expertise in administrative proceedings before the Registrar of Trademarks, including opposition and cancellation proceedings, as well as appeals of the Registrar’s decisions before the Federal Court. As one of Canada’s leading intellectual property lawyer, Bergeron is frequently called upon to negotiate and draft settlement agreements for the benefit of local and international clients. In addition to her trademark practice, she regularly provides advice on copyright matters and regulatory advertising matters such as packaging and labelling practice and language requirements under the Charter of the French Language.
Christian Bolduc
Law firm: Smart & Biggar
Year called to the Bar: 1994
City: Montréal
Christian Bolduc is a partner in Smart & Biggar’s Montréal office. He boasts more than 20 years of experience across all stages of the trademark life cycle. Bolduc is recognized as one of Canada’s leading intellectual property lawyers and is passionate about helping clients generate ROI and value from strategically developed IP assets. His trademark practice consists primarily of procurement, oppositions and cancellation proceedings, management, strategic counselling and enforcement. Bolduc routinely prepares and prosecutes trademark applications and prepares opinions on availability, registrability, validity and infringement. He is a registered trademark agent.
Chantal Desjardins
Law firm: Lavery, de Billy, L.L.P.
Year called to the Bar: 1985
City: Montréal
Chantal Desjardins is a partner, lawyer and trademark agent at Lavery, de Billy, L.L.P.’s intellectual property group and a member of the firm’s board of directors. She contributes actively to the development of her clients’ rights in this field, which includes the protection of trademarks, industrial designs, copyright, domain names and other related forms of intellectual property. Desjardins represents clients in the examination of applications, opposition proceedings and litigation in Canada and in other countries. She negotiates licences and technology transfers and advises and defends clients’ rights in the field of advertising and labelling, and other topics such as the Charter of the French language. Desjardins also regularly gives conferences and seminars and publishes articles on IP matters. She is recognized as one of the top intellectual property lawyers in Canada. Her firm is a full-service business law firm based in Québec.
Jean-François Drolet
Law firm: Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1986
City: Québec City
Jean-François Drolet is a senior partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP’s office in Québec City. His firm ranks as one of Canada’s largest full-service business law firms. Drolet boasts more than 30 years of experience in all areas of intellectual property, particularly in trademark, industrial design and copyright matters. As one of the country’s top intellectual property lawyers, his expertise is often sought by members of Canadian business law groups in financing transactions involving intangible assets and in corporate sales and acquisitions. Drolet also manages large trademark and industrial design portfolios in Canada and internationally. His practice includes drafting various commercial contracts and agreements for the marketing and protection of intellectual property. Drolet is a registered trademark agent.
Barry Gamache
Law firm: Robic, LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1987
City: Montréal
Barry Gamache is a partner at Robic, LLP, where he specializes in trademark law. He has been practising in the field for more than three decades. His practice focuses on, but is not limited to, disputes concerning trademark law, for the most part, before the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal. Gamache is a registered trademark agent and an active litigator. He has represented clients before various courts, including the Court of Appeal of Québec, the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. Gamache has also participated in numerous hearings before the Opposition Board of the Trademarks Office. As one of the best intellectual property lawyers in the country, several rulings in cases he had argued have impacted trademark law and are now relied upon by the legal community.
Jean-Philippe Mikus
Law firm: Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1995
City: Montréal
Jean-Philippe Mikus devotes his practice to intellectual property, information technology and entertainment law. He is a partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, an international full-service business law firm. Mikus has extensive experience representing foreign and Canadian clients in matters involving trademarks, passing off, copyright, trade secrets, patents, Internet, ecommerce, digital entertainment, social media, IT systems, software and unfair competition. A registered trademark agent, he manages and provides strategic advice on extensive Canadian and international trademark portfolios. Mikus frequently acts on IP/IT issues in mergers and acquisitions and financings involving technological companies. He also provides advice in the context of technology transfers and technological joint ventures. Mikus is recognized as one of the country’s top intellectual property lawyers. He is also a prolific author on copyright law, trademark law, patent law and information technology law.
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Marek Nitoslawski
Law firm: Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1984
City: Montréal
Marek Nitoslawski is a seasoned intellectual property litigator and serves as a partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP. He assists clients in maximizing the protection of their IP assets and in all manner of dispute resolution. His practice focuses on providing strategic advice to businesses large and small in various industries, including aerospace, artificial intelligence, robotics, recreational vehicles and luxury goods. Nitoslawski also advises broadcasters and other content providers on Internet-related issues. His expertise extends to all forms of IP, including patents, trademarks, copyright, industrial designs, trade secrets and unfair competition. Nitoslawski has an affinity for non-conventional marks and using a combination of IP rights to extract maximum added value for clients. He has successfully argued cases before the Federal courts, the Québec Superior Court, the Supreme Court of Canada, the Copyright Board and the International Chamber of Commerce (Paris). Nitoslawski is considered among the top intellectual property lawyers in Canada.
Judith M. Robinson
Law firm: Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1991
City: Montréal
Judith M. Robinson’s practice revolves around intellectual property litigation, dispute avoidance and resolution and risk mitigation. She is a registered trademark agent and a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP. Robinson has been particularly active in the pharmaceutical and aerospace sectors. She has a wide experience before the courts, including for cross-border patent trials and damages assessments, and the judicial review of administrative decisions relating to IP. Robinson was also appellate counsel in a statutory appeal in telecommunications that raised significant issues of copyright. She has been active in litigation under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations since the introduction of that regime in 1993. Robinson is recognized as one of the best intellectual property lawyers in Canada.
Nicolas Sapp
Law firm: Robic, LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1993
City: Québec City
Nicolas Sapp is a registered trademark agent and the managing partner at Robic, LLP’s office in Québec. He specializes in all areas of intellectual property law, particularly in patents, trademarks, copyrights and industrial designs, for which he renders legal opinions. Sapp’s practice also involves litigation and alternative dispute resolution in matters such as trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, patents and industrial designs. He also boasts expertise in the drafting and negotiating of commercial conventions, namely licence, assignment and distribution agreements. Sapp advises clients in the management of IP portfolios. He is considered among the best intellectual property lawyers in Canada.
Bob H. Sotiriadis
Law firm: Robic, LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1984
City: Montréal
Bob H. Sotiriadis is a partner at Robic, LLP. He specializes in litigation in all areas of industrial and intellectual property law. Sotiriadis boasts extensive experience in licensing and transactional intellectual property, including strategic IP management, due diligence and auditing. He is also well-versed in the management and commercialization of IP rights. Sotiriadis is a registered trademark agent and considered one of the top intellectual property lawyers in Canada.