Smart & Biggar retains its position as one of the leading IP firms in Canada. In October 2022, the firm became part of IPH Limited, an ASX-listed company which owns Asia-Pacific IP firms such as AJ Park and Griffith Hack. The firm further expanded in September 2023 when it acquired IP firm Ridout & Maybee.
This firm is highly recommended for IP protection and disputes work. Its technical expertise for patent work is quite broad, covering areas such as life sciences, software/ICT, electronics, and mechanical engineering. Some of its patent practitioners are dual qualified to deal with both patent protection and litigation.
ICT specialist Matthew Zischka serves as the managing director of the firm. Jonas Gifford is in charge of the patents practice. He is supported by senior patent agents such as life sciences practice leader Daphne Lainson, Elliott Simcoe, and David Schwartz.
Nancy Pei, Steven Garland, Yoon Kang, Sheldon Hamilton, and François Guay are among the prominent patent litigators in the firm. Garland is indeed an excellent all-round IP litigator. Pharmacist Alice Tseng is experienced in advising on regulatory matters in the life sciences sector.
The boutique also maintains a significant soft IP practice, featuring some of the leading trade mark practitioners in Canada; they include Mark Evans, Mark Biernacki, Kohji Suzuki, and Philip Lapin.
Graham Hood heads up the firm's trade mark practice. Other senior soft IP practitioners in the firm are Christian Bolduc and Jean-Sébastien Dupont, who now leads the litigation and legal department. Guay, Hood and Biernacki can also advise on copyright matters. Christine Genge is very knowledgeable about design law and practice.
