Past Events

Date: Friday, November 14, 2025, 9:00 am - 3:15 pm
Location: Jackman Law Bldg., Rosalie Silberman Abella Moot Court Room (J250)
 

AGENDA

PRESENTATION
Patents & Open Science in New Drug Innovation

MODERATORS & PANELISTS

Justice Angela Furlanetto
Justice Angela Furlanetto was appointed Judge of the Federal Court on February 26, 2021. She served as an Associate Judge of the Federal Court for two years prior to her appointment. Before joining the Court, Justice Furlanetto practiced in all areas of intellectual property litigation as a Partner with Dimock Stratton LLP and later DLA Piper (Canada) LLP.

Justice Allyson Whyte Nowak, Federal Court
Justice Allyson Whyte Nowak was appointed Justice of the Federal Court, and ex officio member of the Federal Court of Appeal, on January 26, 2024.

Prior to her appointment, Justice Whyte Nowak practiced law for 28 years with a focus on intellectual property (IP) and related commercial litigation including patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, and disputes over the ownership and inventorship of IP.  She has experience litigating at the Federal Court, the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. During her practice, Justice Whyte Nowak participated as a guest lecturer in judicial education seminars on IP law organized by a variety of legal organizations including the National Judicial Institute, and she regularly wrote on a variety of intellectual property topics, including co-authoring the chapter, "Best Practices in Litigating Complex IP Litigation" in Intellectual Property Disputes: Resolutions and Remedies (R. E. Dimock, Thomson Reuters).

Justice Michael D. Manson, Federal Court
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia. Educated at McGill University (BSc. 1976; Dip.Ed. 1978) and University of British Columbia (L.L.B. 1982). Called to the Bars of Ontario (1984) and British Columbia (1995); Associate and Partner at Smart & Biggar (1984-2012); Fellow of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada and of the Litigation Counsel of America. Adjunct Professor of the University of Victoria (1996-2012). Registered Trade-mark Agent (1984) and Patent Agent (1989). Author and speaker, Canadian Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law and Federal Court Practice. Selected Vancouver Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers, Preeminent IP Litigation Lawyer in British Columbia by Bench mark Canada, and Canadian Outstanding IP Practitioner by Managing Intellectual Property all in 2012. Appointed Judge of the Federal Court, October 5, 2012, and assumed Supernumerary status as a Federal Court Judge as of February 18, 2025. Throughout his tenure as a Federal Court Judge, he has been a Member of the case management, education, clerk and executive committees of the Court. In addition, Justice Manson has joined the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Advisory Board of Judges for the 2025-2027 term.

Benjamin Hackett, Goodmans LLP
Ben Hackett is a partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group at Goodmans. He practices commercial litigation, with an emphasis on intellectual property litigation.  Ben has been counsel on a number of significant cases involving patent validity and infringement, damages and profits quantification and cases seeking recovery under section 8 of the Patented Medicines (NOC) Regulations.

Jordana Sanft, Lenczner Slaght LLP
Jordana Sanft is a partner at Lenczner Slaght and co-lead of the firm's Intellectual Property group. A top-notch advocate, she is recognized on a national and global level for her deep expertise in all areas of intellectual property law, including patent, trademark, and copyright disputes. Jordana is particularly well known for her expertise in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries, among others. She regularly acts in proceedings under the Patented Medicines (NOC) Regulations, patent impeachment and infringement actions, judicial review proceedings, and damages actions. Jordana is frequently invited to speak on substantive legal and professional practice matters. She is also an active member of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, having served as a Director of its Board and Chair of its Annual Conference Committee, and currently serving as Treasurer of the Executive Board.

Yael Bienenstock, Tory’s LLP
With a scientific background and broad experience across industries, Yael is a skilled litigator with robust analytical abilities and an approachable style to working with her clients.

Yael focuses on commercial litigation, intellectual property cases and public law matters, with broad experience in a variety of industries, including life sciences, media, oil and gas and consumer products.

She has appeared as counsel in various levels of courts, including the Federal Court of Appeal, the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. She has particular experience in patent litigation under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations and related regulatory proceedings concerning leading drug products for international and North American pharmaceutical companies.

Mark Davis, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP
Mark Davis is a trial lawyer with significant experience in patent and trademark litigation, including proceedings under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations, as well as in breach of confidence/trade secret, anti-counterfeiting, design, and copyright disputes. Mark is a Certified Specialist (Patents/Trademarks/Copyright) by the Law Society of Ontario and has successfully argued numerous precedent-setting intellectual property cases at both the trial and appellate levels. Mark has repeatedly been recognized for both his patent and trademark litigation skills by publications such as Lexpert, Chambers, The Best Lawyers in Canada, IAM Patent 1000, IP Stars (patent and trademark litigation), World Trademark Review 1000: The World's Leading Trademark Professionals, and Who’s Who Legal: Life Sciences. Mark is a prolific writer and speaker and has taken active leadership roles in many of the leading professional associations for intellectual property law in Canada, the United States, and internationally.

Marian Wolanski, Belmore Neidrauer LLP
Marian Wolanski is a Partner of Belmore Neidrauer LLP, a Toronto based boutique firm specializing in intellectual property disputes. Marian provides strategic advice on navigating intellectual property challenges, including complex multi-jurisdictional litigation. Marian has significant litigation experience, particularly in patent cases for the pharmaceutical industry and under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations. She has appeared as counsel before the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court of Canada. Marian is repeatedly recognized as a leading lawyer in her field by various legal directories, including being named Patent Litigator of the Year – Canada (2025) by LMG Life Sciences.

David Yi, Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
David Yi is a partner in the intellectual property group at Norton Rose Fulbright. He is an experienced IP litigator with a focus on complex patent disputes and matters where intellectual property issues intersect with competition and commercial issues. He advises clients across a variety of industries including life sciences and information technology. Before starting in private practice, he was a judicial law clerk at the Federal Court.

Aled Edwards, Structural Genomics Consortium
Aled is the founding and current CEO of the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), a UK-charity created to understand the roles of all human proteins and determine their relevance for drug discovery through the generation and open distribution of data and chemical research tools.  The ~250 SGC-affiliated scientists are located in 7 different universities around the world and never file for patents as a core principle, despite receiving significant unrestricted funding from industry (~$200M over past 20 years).  Aled was the founding CEO of Affinium, which developed one of the few innovative antibiotics (as defined by WHO) currently in clinical trials, and together with Max Morgan is the co-founder of M4K Pharma, which aims to invent a drug for childhood cancer without patents.  Aled is a Fellow of the Royal Society, an Officer of the Order of Canada, and a big Blue Jays fan.  Go Jays!

Max Morgan, Structural Genomics Consortium
Max is General Counsel at the Structural Genomics Consortium and CEO of Agora Open Science Trust, a Canadian charity using open science to advance drug discovery in areas of unmet need.  Prior to joining SGC, Max worked as an intellectual property litigator and pharmaceutical regulatory lawyer in private practice, and more recently served as in-house counsel with Grand Challenges Canada. Max holds a B.Sc. from McGill University, a J.D. from the University of Toronto, and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School. He is a member of the Law Society of Ontario and the New York State Bar.

Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 - 17:00
Location: Jackman Law Building, 78 Queen's Park, Toronto, ON M5S 2C5

What is “ePersonhood”—electronic legal personhood—and why has the hope for an autonomous artificial intelligence become so seductive? What work does this belief do, and how does it do it? This talk will explore these questions, examining how the language used to discuss current AI and ePersonhood misleads through deceptive analogies, like the notions of AI “bullshitting,” “hallucinating.” The problem is not only that AI lacks something (such as an intention to mean and to communicate) that we, human beings, have. The problem is that AI has not yet exhibited even the capacity to exhibit that fundamental lack—or, for that matter, to understand what it would mean to communicate the truth or to bullshit. By examining the language that the law and AI theorists use to think about LLMs like ChatGPT, we will see more clearly what follows from our widely held self-deception about the capacity and status of AI legal persons—ePersons.

Lisa Siraganian, J.D., Ph.D.
J. R. Herbert Boone Chair in Humanities and Professor of Comparative Thought and Literature
Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland

Prof. Siraganian is the author of Modernism and the Meaning of Corporate Persons (Oxford 2020), winner of the Modernist Studies Association Book Prize and the Modern Language Association’s Matei Calinescu Book Prize, and Modernism's Other Work: The Art Object's Political Life (Oxford 2012), shortlisted for the Modernist Studies Association Book Prize. Her scholarship has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Council of Learned Societies, and she was the recipient of an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation New Directions Fellowship that funded the completion of her law degree (J.D.) in 2019. She is the Editor of Volume D (1914-1945), one of the five volumes of The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Tenth Edition (2022). Her next book, The Problem of Personhood: Giving Rights to Trees, Corporations and Robots, is forthcoming from Verso.

AGENDA

PRESENTATIONS

Panel 1: Ambiguity and Indefiniteness

Panel 2: Overbreadth and Double Patenting
               - Nisha Anand
               - Adam Bobker
               - Rebecca Crane

Panel 3: Balancing Act: Expert and Fact Evidence - Exploring the Boundaries of Opinion Evidence and Related Practice Points

PANELISTS & MODERATORS

Chief Justice Paul Crampton, Federal Court of Appeal
Paul Crampton was appointed to the Federal Court on November 26 2009 and to the position of Chief Justice on December 15, 2011. Prior to joining the bench, he specialized in competition/antitrust law in private practice. After spending ten years as a partner at what is now Davies, Ward, Phillips and Vineberg LLP, he spent five years as a partner at Osler LLP. Between his work at those firms, he took a two-year sabbatical at the OECD, where he was responsible for the organization’s work with developing countries in the competition law and policy field. At the outset of his career, he was Special Advisor to the Commissioner of Competition.

MODERATORS

Justice Angela Furlanetto
The Honourable Justice Angela Furlanetto was appointed Associate Judge of the Federal Court on March 7, 2019 and appointed a Justice and ex officio member of the Federal Court of Appeal on February 26, 2021. She worked in the area of intellectual property, particularly in patent litigation and in the field of life sciences and was often recognized as a leading lawyer in Canada in these areas. She appeared regularly before the Federal Courts, handling all aspects of intellectual property and a variety of technical subject matter.

She was an active member of the Canadian Bar Association, serving as a former Chair of the National IP Section, member of the Court Practice Committee, one of the original members of the Federal Court IP User’s Committee and as IP Section representative of the Federal Court Bench and Bar Committee. She was also a Fellow of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada and a former Chair of their Litigation Committee. Committed to the development of lawyers in intellectual property law, Justice Furlanetto helped found the Harold G. Fox Moot, Canada’s only intellectual property moot, where she served as Chair for ten years.

Before joining the Court, Justice Furlanetto practised in all areas of intellectual property litigation as a Partner with Dimock Stratton LLP and later DLA Piper (Canada) LLP. She has a BSc degree in Biochemistry (summa cum laude) from McMaster University in 1991, a Master of Science degree in Biochemistry from Western University in 1993, and a Bachelor of Laws degree from Western University in 1996. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1998.

Justice Michael D. Manson, Federal Court of Canada

The Honourable Justice Michael Manson was appointed Judge of the Federal Court on October 5, 2012. He attended McGill University (BSc. 1976; Dip.Ed. 1978) and the University of British Columbia (L.L.B. 1982). He was called to the Bars of Ontario in 1984 and British Columbia in 1995. He was Associate and then Partner at Smart & Biggar from 1984 to 2012. In 1996-2012, he was an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Victoria. He became a Registered Trade-mark Agent in 1984 and Patent Agent in 1989. He has authored more than one hundred articles and papers on intellectual property, trademark patents, and copyright law. In 2012, he was selected Vancouver Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers; Preeminent IP Litigation Lawyer in British Columbia by Benchmark Canada; and Canadian Outstanding IP Practitioner by Managing Intellectual Property. He was also a Fellow of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada and of the Litigation Counsel of America.

Justice Christine Pallota, Federal Court of Canada
The Honourable Justice Christine Pallotta was appointed to the Federal Court on January 30, 2020. Prior to her appointment, she practised as an intellectual property (IP) lawyer and served as the national leader of the IP litigation focus group at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG). Since joining the intellectual property firm Bereskin & Parr in 1999, and then BLG in 2011, Justice Pallotta’s practice focused on intellectual property law and litigation, including trademark, patent, copyright, and confidential information cases. Justice Pallotta has a science background, having completed a B.Sc.H. (Biology) at Queen's University prior to law school.
Justice Pallotta has written and presented on various topics in intellectual property law and has been actively involved in Canadian and international IP organizations including the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC). She has also been actively involved in the Harold G. Fox Intellectual Property Moot.  At IPIC, Justice Pallotta co-founded the Women in IP Networking Group, with a mission to provide career support and business development opportunities for women in IP, as well as to promote equality and diversity within the profession.

PANELISTS

Andrew Moeser, Lenczner Slaght LLP
Andrew Moeser is a partner at Lenczner Slaght LLP. His practice is primarily focused on intellectual property litigation. In patent matters, he has experience with industries such as pharmaceutical and biologics, information technology, and oil and gas. In trademark, copyright, and trade secret matters, he has represented clients in disputes relating to software, gaming, and beauty products. Andrew also has experience in commercial litigation relating to environmental contamination, and in judicial reviews in regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals and renewable energy.

Kavita Ramamoorthy, Fineberg Ramamoorthy LLP
Kavita Ramamoorthy is a Partner of the firm Fineberg Ramamoorthy LLP which specializes in pharmaceutical patent litigation and regulatory matters. Kavita has over 20 years of experience in proceedings under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (on behalf of both innovators and generics) as well as patent actions and judicial reviews. She has appeared frequently before the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal. In addition to being a lawyer, Kavita is a patent agent and holds a Ph.D. in Toxicology. She has been repeatedly named one of the Top 250 Women in IP globally and is listed in various legal directories including Chambers, Who’s Who Legal, IAM Patent 1000, IP Stars, WIPR Leaders, Lexpert and Best Lawyers. She is a frequent speaker and is also an active member of WING (Women in IP Networking Group) which seeks to provide advancement, career advice and networking opportunities for Canadian women in IP.  

Andrew Skodyn, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP

Andrew Skodyn is a partner in the Intellectual Property Group at Cassels, Brock & Blackwell, in Toronto. Andrew is a very experienced IP litigator, with a particular focus on patent and trademark litigation. In his patent cases over the years, Andrew has acted for plaintiffs and defendants, patentees, licensees and alleged infringers, innovators and generics. He has been counsel in numerous trials, applications and appeals, mostly (though not exclusively) in the Federal Courts. He is also active in several professional organizations, including IPIC and the CBA. He has a particular interest in court practice and continuing education, which leads him to speaking engagements like this one.

Nisha Anand, Gilbert’s LLP
Nisha Anand is a strategic, creative, and fearless advocate who provides comprehensive advice on Canadian and multi-jurisdictional litigation. She has represented clients before the Ontario Superior Court and Federal Court of Canada in matters related to all aspects of intellectual property. Nisha’s practice focuses primarily on patent litigation in various industry sectors, including pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, and oil and gas. She also advises clients on intellectual property and litigation strategy, and pharmaceutical clients on regulatory matters with Health Canada.

A scientist-turned-litigator, Nisha completed a PhD in molecular biology, genetics, and cancer at McMaster University prior to obtaining her law degree from the University of Toronto. She is active in the local legal community. She frequently volunteers to speak on panels related to advocacy or intellectual property, judge moots, teach trial advocacy, and to mentor young lawyers.

Adam Bobker, Smart & Biggar LLP
Adam Bobker’s practice focuses on contentious matters in all areas of intellectual property. He has significant experience litigating patent, trademark, copyright, and industrial design cases before the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal.  Each case provides an opportunity to learn something new, keeping the practice interesting. He has helped resolve hundreds of IP matters by settlement or a successful decision on the merits. Before his law degree, Adam studied electrical engineering and worked in the GM Car Body Assembly Plant in Oshawa. Adam is also a registered trademark agent.

Rebecca Crane, Markwell Clarizio LLP
Rebecca Crane is a partner at Markwell Clarizio LLP. She has been practising patent law, particularly in the area of pharmaceutical patent litigation, since 2006. Her practice also includes invalidity and infringement opinions and advising on a variety of regulatory matters including on matters related to Canada’s Patented Medicines Prices Review Board. Rebecca also has significant research experience in biochemistry, molecular biology, and microbiology having completed a Ph.D. in microbiology prior to law school. She has been recognized as a leading lawyer in her field by various independent publications including IAM Patent 1000, The Best Lawyers Canada, and IP Stars.

Nicole Mantini, Torys LLP
Nicole Mantini’s commercial litigation practice focuses on the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life sciences sectors. Her experience extends across patent and trademark litigation, product liability and class actions, and regulatory and judicial review proceedings. Nicole frequently represents international and North American pharmaceutical companies in patent infringement, impeachment and related proceedings, including under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulation.

She has appeared as counsel in the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal, at the trial and appellate level in the courts of Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia and in the Supreme Court of Canada.

Sanjaya Mendis, McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Sanjaya Mendis is a partner in McCarthy Tétrault LLP’s IP Litigation group in Toronto. His practice involves a focus in life sciences and technology, with litigation and strategic advice in the areas of patent and PM(NOC) proceedings. He frequently helps coordinate complex, high-stakes, cross-border patent disputes. Sanjaya is ranked in various IP litigation ranking directories, and has successfully acted in several award-winning litigation cases recognized by Managing IP and LMG Life Sciences. When not seeking thrills in the court room, he enjoys adrenaline sports.

Jenene Roberts, Goodmans LLP
Jenene Roberts is a partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group at Goodmans and practises in the area of intellectual property litigation. With a particular focus on patent litigation, Jenene has significant experience and expertise in litigating cases in the pharmaceutical industry. She also appears regularly before the Federal Court of Canada in complex patent litigation, and has appeared before the Federal Court of Appeal. Jenene is also a registered trademark agent. Prior to law school, Jenene worked as a research assistant for three years as an undergraduate chemistry student at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Date: Thursday, March 14, 2024, 5:30 pm
Location: Jackman Law Building (J250) or virtual
 

The Communicating Commons: Varieties of the Public Domain in Modern Literature and Culture

ABSTRACT
There is no such thing as the commons, or the public domain. There are only the many public domains—emergent, dominant, residual—that exist at any moment in a place and culture, according to need or desire. The past 150 years have seen a proliferation of public domains in the theory and practice of modern writers and thinkers: varieties of the commons that temporarily flood the communications circuit with available voices of the competing or collaborating dead. This talk will examine some of these public domains—as resources, inventions, constructs, polemics—in the work of modern and contemporary authors, theorists, and legal scholars.

SPEAKER
Professor Robert Spoo
Leonard L. Milberg ’53 Professor in Irish Letters
Princeton University

Prof. Robert Spoo is Leonard L. Milberg ’53 Professor in Irish Letters at Princeton University. Until recently, he was Chapman Distinguished Professor of Law and Professor of English at The University of Tulsa, where he co-edited the James Joyce Quarterly. In recent years, his interdisciplinary work has appeared in the Stanford Law Review, UCLA Law Review, Law & Literature, Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal, Journal of Modern Literature, James Joyce Quarterly, and other venues. His recent books include Without Copyrights: Piracy, Publishing, and the Public Domain (2013) and Modernism and the Law (2018). The latter was written with the support of a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship in the Humanities. With Simon Stern, he edits the Law & Literature series for Oxford University Press.

Date: Friday, November 10, 2023, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Location: Professor A.V. Dicey Classroom (J140)

Presentations

Remedies and Views on Non-Infringing Alternatives Post-Dow v Nova, Zarya Cynader, Gilbert's LLP, Amrita V. Singh, Marks & Clerk Law LLP, and Bentley Gaikis, DLA Piper (Canada) LLP
Computer-Implemented Inventions in Canada - Bryan Norrie, Aitken Klee LLP
Methods of Medical Treatment - Steven Tanner, McCarthy Tetrault
Patentable Subject Matter: Where are the Dividing Lines? - Amy Grenon, aird & Berlis LLP

SPEAKERS' AND MODERATORS' BIOS

Chief Justice Paul Crampton, Federal Court of Appeal

The Honourable Chief Justice Paul Crampton was appointed to the Federal Court on November 26, 2009 and to his current position on December 15, 2011. Prior to joining the bench, he specialized in competition/anti-trust law in private practice. After spending ten years as a partner at what is now Davies, Ward, Phillips and Vineberg LLP, he spent five years as a partner at Osler LLP. Between his work at those firms, he took a two-year sabbatical at the OECD, where he was responsible for the organization’s work with developing countries in the competition law and policy field. At the outset of his career, he was Special Advisor to the Commissioner of Competition.

MODERATORS

Justice Mandy Aylen, Federal Court of Canada
Justice Mandy Aylen was appointed to the Federal Court as a Prothonotary (as the office was then known) in 2016 and then as a Judge in 2021. Prior to joining the Court, she was a partner with a national law firm and specialized in domestic and international commercial arbitration, procurement and government contracting, immigration and general commercial litigation. Since joining the Court, she has gained extensive experience in intellectual property litigation and in particular, navigating the amended PMNOC regime introduced shortly after her appointment.

Justice Angela Furlanetto
Justice Angela Furlanetto was appointed a Judge of the Federal Court on February 26, 2021. She served as an Associate Judge of the Federal Court for two years prior to her appointment. Before joining the Court, Justice Furlanetto practiced in all areas of intellectual property litigation as a Partner with Dimock Stratton LLP and later DLA Piper (Canada) LLP. (https://www.fct-cf.gc.ca/en/pages/about-the-court/members-of-the-court/judges/the-honourable-angela-furlanetto).
 
Justice Michael D. Manson, Federal Court of Canada
The Honourable Justice Michael Manson was appointed Judge of the Federal Court on October 5, 2012. He attended McGill University (BSc. 1976; Dip.Ed. 1978) and the University of British Columbia (L.L.B. 1982). He was called to the Bars of Ontario in 1984 and British Columbia in 1995. He was Associate and then Partner at Smart & Biggar from 1984 to 2012. In 1996-2012, he was an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Victoria. He became a Registered Trade-mark Agent in 1984 and Patent Agent in 1989. He has authored more than one hundred articles and papers on intellectual property, trademark patents, and copyright law. In 2012, he was selected Vancouver Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers; Preeminent IP Litigation Lawyer in British Columbia by Benchmark Canada; and Canadian Outstanding IP Practitioner by Managing Intellectual Property. He was also a Fellow of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada and of the Litigation Counsel of America. 

PANELISTS

Zara Cynader, Gilbert’s LLP
Zarya Cynader is an IP litigator and partner at Gilbert’s LLP. She studied organic chemistry at UBC and law at U of T, and now assists clients in the pharma, biotech, technology, and consumer products sectors with product launches and related IP and regulatory disputes. Outside of work, Zarya enjoys travelling and spending time in the great outdoors, preferably without cell reception.

Elizabeth S. Dipchand, Dipchand LLP
Elizabeth serves as the managing partner at Dipchand LLP, a distinguished and rapidly growing boutique law firm specializing in Intellectual Property law and litigation, as well as corporate/commercial and franchise law. While her early career focused on pharma litigation under the PM(NOC), her practice is now a split between litigation and IP strategy / advisory work for innovative clients, mainly in the biotech and tech space. Elizabeth excels in finding practical solutions and is a frequent speaker on all things IP. In all her free time, she is a self-professed governance wonk and sits on a few boards including OCAD University, Shaw Festival Theater and serves as the Treasurer for the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada.

Neil Fineberg, Fineberg Ramamoorthy
Neil Fineberg is principal at Fineberg Ramamoorthy.  Neil has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical space, including patent infringement actions and cases under the PM(NOC) Regulations.  Fineberg Ramamoorthy have been counsel of record in 40 actions under the PMNOC Regulations since 2017.  Neil and his colleagues were counsel on some of the first cases to proceed under the “new Regulations” and can speak to the changes that have taken place over the past six years in the Court’s approach to those Regulations, from counsel’s perspective.  Neil recently spoke on this topic at IP day in Ottawa and on other patent-related topics at the IPIC annual meeting in Winnipeg.

Bentley Gaikis, DLA Piper 
Bentley Gaikis practices all areas of intellectual property law with a focus on patent litigation. He has experience representing clients engaged in complex multi-jurisdictional litigation requiring strategic co-ordination and collaboration between co-counsel in different jurisdictions. He has represented clients in all stages of patent disputes including trials and appeals. Bentley studied biotechnology while obtaining his master’s degree in chemical engineering. Since 2020, he has chaired the Fox IP Moot organizing committee. 

Amy Grenon, Aird & Berlis LLP
Amy Grenon is a partner at Aird & Berlis LLP, where she is a member of the firm’s Intellectual and Litigation & Dispute Resolution Groups. She has represented a wide array of Property clients in patent infringement and impeachment actions, as well as proceedings under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations and claims seeking damages therefrom. Amy also represents clients in appeals from decisions of the Patent Appeal Board and judicial reviews pertaining to prosecution matters. She regularly advises clients on regulatory matters, advertising, and licensing issues as well as the freedom to operate.

Emily Kettel, Bennett Jones LLP
Emily Kettel is a partner at Bennett Jones LLP in Toronto. She is an intellectual property litigator with over a decade of experience in patent validity, infringement and damages litigation, and intellectual property advisory work for clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and other science-based industries. Emily has significant experience in complex, multi-party patent matters involving concurrent litigation in Canada and the US and works with clients on market entry strategies. Emily chairs the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada's Women in IP Networking Group and sits on the Advocates Society's 10+ committee. 

Bryan Norrie, Aitken Klee
Bryan is a partner at Aitken Klee, where his practice focuses on patent litigation, mainly in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. When outside of the courtroom, Bryan may instead be found on a basketball court, pleading with nine-year-old players to keep their heads up while dribbling. 

Amrita V. Singh, Marks & Clerk
Amrita’s practice focuses on litigation in all areas of intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, copyright, confidential information and trade secrets. She is the current Chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s (CBA) Intellectual Property Section, and very active in the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) as a Board member, Chair of the Equality Committee, and member of Council. Amrita is also the immediate Past-Chair of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada's (IPIC) Litigation committee and is on the Federal Court IP Users Committee. Amrita is the 2021 recipient of the Queen’s University Law School Dan Soberman Outstanding Young Alumni Award for early career success, a 2022 recipient of the Lexpert Rising Star award, and is routinely ranked in various preeminent IP directories by clients and peers for her work in intellectual property law. 

Steven Tanner, McCarthy Tetrault
Steven Tanner is a partner in McCarthy Tétrault’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group, based in Toronto. Focused primarily on contentious patent litigation, he has helped lead some of Canada’s largest and most significant patent infringement actions in the oil & gas, pharmaceutical and telecommunications industries. Steven taught patent law for many years as an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall and will be teaching IP litigation in the coming year. Steven is currently ranked as a leading practitioner in Chambers Canada, Managing Intellectual Property: IP Stars and IAM Patent 1000, and has successfully acted in several award-winning litigation cases recognized by Managing IP and LMG Life Sciences.

Date: Wednesday, February 8, 2023, 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Location: Jackman Law Building, Rosalie Silberman Abella Moot Court Room (J250)

Ground Truth Trouble: Investigating the Foundations of AI

Abstract: The last decade has seen a dramatic capture of digital material for machine learning production. This data is the basis for sense-making in AI, not as classical representations of the world with individual meaning, but as mass collections: ground truth for machine abstractions and operations. OpenAI’s GPT-3 language model is trained on a corpus of 1 billion words, ImageNet contains over 14 million images, and Tencent’s ML Images contains more than 17.5 million annotated images – predominantly scraped from the internet. Training datasets shape the epistemic boundaries governing how machine learning operates, and thus are an essential part of understanding socially significant questions about AI. But when we closely investigate the benchmark training sets widely used in NLP and computer vision systems, we find complex social, political, and epistemological challenges. What happens when data is seen as an aggregate, stripped of context, meaning, and specificity? In what ways does training data limit what and how machine learning systems interpret the world? And most importantly, what forms of power do these approaches enhance and enable? In this lecture, Kate Crawford will share new work that reflects on what’s at stake in the architecture and contents of training sets, and how they are increasingly part of our urban, legal, logistical, and commercial infrastructures.

Prof. Kate Crawford
Research Professor, USC Annenberg
School for Communication and Journalism
Author of Atlas of AI: Power, Politics and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence (Yale U Press 2021)

Professor Kate Crawford is a leading international scholar of the social implications of artificial intelligence. She is a Research Professor at USC Annenberg in Los Angeles, a Senior Principal Researcher at MSR in New York, an Honorary Professor at the University of Sydney, and the inaugural Visiting Chair for AI and Justice at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris.  Her latest book, Atlas of AI (Yale, 2021) won the Sally Hacker Prize from the Society for the History of Technology, the ASSI&T Best Information Science Book Award, and was named one of the best books in 2021 by New Scientist and the Financial Times. Over her twenty-year research career, she has also produced groundbreaking creative collaborations and visual investigations. Her project Anatomy of an AI System with Vladan Joler is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the V&A in London, and was awarded with the Design of the Year Award in 2019 and included in the Design of the Decades by the Design Museum of London. Her collaboration with the artist Trevor Paglen, Excavating AI, won the Ayrton Prize from the British Society for the History of Science. She has advised policy makers in the United Nations, the White House, and the European Parliament, and she currently leads the Knowing Machines Project, an international research collaboration that investigates the foundations of machine learning.

AGENDA

PRESENTATIONS

Panel 1: New Patentability Requirements - Where are we from Amazon and Choueifaty?
Panel 2: AI's Impact on Patent Law - Can AI Be the Inventor?
Panel 3: Where is Canada with the "Inventive Concept"?

SPEAKERS & MODERATORS

Chief Justice Paul Crampton, Federal Court of Appeal
The Honourable Chief Justice Paul Crampton was appointed to the Federal Court on November 26, 2009 and to his current position on December 15, 2011. Prior to joining the bench, he specialized in competition/anti-trust law in private practice. After spending ten years as a partner at what is now Davies, Ward, Phillips and Vineberg LLP, he spent five years as a partner at Osler LLP. Between his work at those firms, he took a two-year sabbatical at the OECD, where he was responsible for the organization’s work with developing countries in the competition law and policy field. At the outset of his career, he was Special Advisor to the Commissioner of Competition.

MODERATORS

Justice Michael D. Manson, Federal Court of Canada
The Honourable Justice Michael Manson was appointed Judge of the Federal Court on October 5, 2012. He attended McGill University (BSc. 1976; Dip.Ed. 1978) and the University of British Columbia (L.L.B. 1982). He was called to the Bars of Ontario in 1984 and British Columbia in 1995. He was Associate and then Partner at Smart & Biggar from 1984 to 2012. In 1996-2012, he was an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Victoria.  He became a Registered Trade-mark Agent in 1984 and Patent Agent in 1989. He has authored more than one hundred articles and papers on intellectual property, trademark patents, and copyright law. In 2012, he was selected Vancouver Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers; Preeminent IP Litigation Lawyer in British Columbia by Benchmark Canada; and Canadian Outstanding IP Practitioner by Managing Intellectual Property. He was also a Fellow of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada and of the Litigation Counsel of America.  

Emily Kettel, Bennett Jones LLP
Emily Kettel is a partner at Bennett Jones LLP in Toronto. She is an intellectual property litigator with over a decade of experience in patent validity, infringement and damages litigation, and intellectual property advisory work for clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and other science-based industries.  Emily has significant experience in complex, multi-party patent matters involving concurrent litigation in Canada and the U.S., and works with clients on market entry strategies. Emily chairs the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada's Women in IP Networking Group, and sits on the Advocates Society's 10+ committee.

Justice Russel W. Zinn, Federal Court of Canada
The Honourable Justice Russel W. Zinn was appointed to the Federal Court on February 20, 2008, and to the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada on November 20, 2008. He received a Master of Arts in Philosophy from Carleton University, Ottawa, in 1976 and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Ottawa in 1980. He is Past President of the Americas Chapter of the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges and a Fellow of McLaughlin College. Justice Zinn is the author of The Law of Human Rights in Canada: Practice and Procedure.

SPEAKERS

Kevin Siu, Gilbert’s LLP
Kevin Siu is an experienced intellectual property litigator who has represented clients in the pharmaceutical, technology, gaming, and oil & gas sectors. Kevin also assists clients ranging from multinationals to local start-ups on issues such as patentability and freedom to operate, as well providing advice on IP transactions. Kevin’s practice is supported by a background in engineering, including in the fields of software and infrastructure. Kevin has been named a Rising Star in Canada by Managing Intellectual Property in 2018, 2019, and 2022. Kevin is also the co-author of the chapter titled Patented Medicines Notice of Compliance Regulations in the looseleaf Life Sciences Law in Canada.

Isi Caulder, Bereskin & Parr LLP
Isi Caulder is a partner with Bereskin & Parr LLP and co-leader of the firm’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) practice group and Cleantech practice groups. She helps high technology clients secure and license patent rights for a wide variety of electrical, computer and mechanical related inventions and advises on strategic intellectual property portfolio development and management. She is a frequent speaker and supporter of the Toronto technology community, mentoring start up teams at The UofT Entrepreneurship Hatchery, AGE-WELL and ONEIA. Isi serves on the Leadership Team for the newly launched ChIPS Toronto Chapter, the first in Canada and plans and coordinates legal educational programs at the Ontario Bar Association (OBA), Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC), and the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). Isi is listed in the WIPR Leaders 2022 Directory, 2022 Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada as a “Most Frequently Recommended” lawyer in Canada and is listed in the 2022 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and in 2022 Best Lawyers in Canada.

Matt Norwood, Ridout & Maybee LLP

Matt Norwood is a partner at Ridout & Maybee LLP in Toronto. Originally from Washington, D.C., his practice has included enforcing Free and Open Source Software licenses in New York, litigating patent and trademark disputes in Ontario, and securing patents on a range of high-tech inventions before the Canadian and US patent offices. Matt recently represented Benjamin Moore & Co. before the Federal Court of Canada in a proceeding that clarified the law of statutory subject matter as applied during patent examination.

Jordana Sanft, Lenczner Slaght LLP
Jordana Sanft is a partner at Lenczner Slaght. She is a top-notch advocate, recognized on a national and global level for her deep expertise in all areas of intellectual property law, particularly in patent and trademark disputes. She is also particularly well known for her expertise in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries, among others. She regularly acts in proceedings under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations, patent impeachment and infringement actions, judicial review proceedings, and damages actions. She also regularly works with clients concerning the protection and optimization of their intellectual property portfolios and enforcement of their intellectual property rights.

Gervas Wall, Deeth Williams Wall LLP
Gervas is a graduate of McGill University and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and is a lawyer and patent agent. He has been a partner of the Toronto law firm Deeth Williams Wall LLP since it was founded more than twenty-five years ago. He practices primarily in relation to contentious matters involving intellectual property of all kinds.

Brian Chau, Norton Rose Fulbright
Brian Chau is a patent lawyer with a background in Electrical Engineering and his work focuses heavily on intellectual property rights relating to artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. Brian has drafted a large number of granted AI and machine learning patents, both relating to foundational technologies (e.g., architectures, training approaches, optimization) and more specific applied technologies (e.g., advanced manufacturing, autonomous vehicle / warehouse control, cybersecurity).

Yoon Kang, Smart & Biggar
Yoon is based in the Toronto offices of Smart and Biggar, and a principal leader in the firm’s life sciences litigation practice.

Ron Dimock, Gowling WLG
Ron Dimock is a Partner in the Intellectual Property Group of the Toronto office of Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP doing intellectual property litigation and the Principal at DIMOCK, www.dimock.com, providing mediation, arbitration, and expert witness services. Ron is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a Specialist in Civil Litigation and in Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law. He is also a WIPO IP Mediator, Arbitrator and Expert, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and a Certified Mediator with the International Mediation Institute. Named “Lawyer of the Year in IP” for Toronto in the 2021 Edition of “Best Lawyers”, Ron has been described as “The Guru of IP Law of Canada” by Chambers Global, the “Dean of the Patent Bar” by Who’s Who in Patents, the "King of IP Litigation in Canada" by WTR 1000 Guide, “Chairman of the Board for Canadian Patent Lawyers” by IAM Patent 1000, and “not a bad golfer” by his sons.

Meghan Dureen, Sprigings
Meghan Dureen practices exclusively in the area of intellectual property law litigation, primarily representing generic pharmaceutical companies in actions under the PM(NOC) Regulations. She has been involved in cases relating to basic compound patents, formulation patents, polymorph patents and use patents. Prior to attending law school, Meghan obtained a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry.

Date: Friday, January 28, 2022 - 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Location: Zoom Meeting

Thursday, March 10, 2022 -  5:00 - 6:45 pm

Abstract

The Internet is for advertising. We recognize today that most of our largest technology platform companies are advertising companies that have transformed the Internet into a scramble for visibility and platforms for target marketing. But how does racialized target marketing and advertising - a mainstay of the advertising industry since the 1960s - differently impact people and communities of color in our present era when marketing data, strategy, ad distribution and product visibility are structured and mediated by algorithms and interlocking ad tech infrastructures? And can - and if so how - might public policy help to mitigate such impacts?

Author of the recent book, Black Software: The Internet & Racial Justice, From the Afronet to Black Lives Matter, Dr. Charlton McIlwain is Vice Provost for Faculty Development & Engagement at New York University, and Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at NYU Steinhardt. He works at the intersections of computing technology, race, inequality, and racial justice activism. He has served as an expert witness in landmark U.S. Federal Court cases on reverse redlining/racial targeting in mortgage lending, and recently testified before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services about the impacts of automation and artificial intelligence on the financial services sector. He writes regularly for outlets such as The Guardian, Slate's Future Tense, MIT Technology Review and other outlets about the intersection of race and technology. McIlwain is the founder of the Center for Critical Race & Digital Studies, heads NYU’s Alliance for Public Interest Technology, is NYU’s Designee to the Public Interest Technology University Network, is a board member at Data& Society Research Institute and chairs the board of the Washington Center for Technology Policy Inclusion.

Online Book Discussion: We, the Robots? Regulating Artificial Intelligence and the Limits of the Law
Prof. Simon Chesterman, National University of Singapore
Date: Monday, September 27, 2021 - 9:00 to 10:00 pm
Via Zoom Meeting

About the Book – Should we regulate artificial intelligence (AI)? Can we? From self-driving cars and high-speed trading to algorithmic decision-making, the way we live, work, and play is increasingly dependent on AI systems that operate with diminishing human intervention. These fast, autonomous, and opaque machines offer great benefits – and pose significant risks. This book examines how our laws are dealing with AI, as well as what additional rules and institutions are needed – including the role that AI might play in regulating itself. Drawing on diverse technologies and examples from around the world, the book offers lessons on how to manage risk, draw red lines, and preserve the legitimacy of public authority. Though the prospect of AI pushing beyond the limits of the law may seem remote, these measures are useful now – and will be essential if it ever does.








 

About the Author: Prof. Simon Chesterman is Dean and Provost’s Chair Professor of the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law and Senior Director of AI Governance at AI Singapore. His work has opened up new areas of research on public authority – including the rules and institutions of global governance, the changing functions of national security agencies, and the emerging role of AI and big data. Prof. Chesterman will discuss the book’s major themes and answer questions from the audience about the book.
 

2021/2022 Innovation Law and Policy Workshop Series
Tuesday, March 15, 2022 - 12:30 pm to Tuesday, March 29, 2022 - 12:30 pm
Location: Via Zoom

Date: Friday, November 20, 2020, 10:00 am - 3:15 pm
Via Zoom

AGENDA

MODERATORS & PANELISTS

MODERATORS

Chief Justice Paul Crampton was appointed to the Federal Court on November 26, 2009 and to his current position on December 15, 2011. Prior to joining the bench, he specialized in competition/anti-trust law in private practice. After spending ten years as a partner at what is now Davies, Ward, Phillips and Vineberg LLP, he spent five years as a partner at Osler LLP. Between his work at those firms, he took a two-year sabbatical at the OECD, where he was responsible for the organization’s work with developing countries in the competition law and policy field. At the outset of his career, he was Special Advisor to the Commissioner of Competition.

Justice Michael L. Phelan was appointed a judge of the Federal Court on November 19, 2003. He has also been a judge of the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada since 2004. He was a judicial member of the Competition Tribunal from 2005 to 2012 and was re-appointed for a further term on December 21, 2016. Prior to his appointment to the Bench, Justice Phelan was a senior partner at Ogilvy Renault (now Norton Rose Fulbright Canada) in the Litigation Group and before that, a partner at Osler Hoskin & Harcourt. He has appeared as counsel frequently before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Courts, provincial superior courts and federal tribunals, including the Competition Tribunal. Justice Phelan received a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola College, Montreal, a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University in 1971 and was admitted to the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1973. Justice Phelan is one of the Federal Court members designated to hear major intellectual property cases and has conducted significant cases in patents (of all types), trademarks and copyright.

Justice Michael Manson was appointed Judge of the Federal Court on October 5, 2012. He attended McGill University (BSc. 1976; Dip.Ed. 1978) and the University of British Columbia (L.L.B. 1982). He was called to the Bars of Ontario in 1984 and British Columbia in 1995. He was Associate and then Partner at Smart & Biggar from 1984 to 2012. In 1996-2012, he was an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Victoria.  He became a Registered Trade-mark Agent in 1984 and Patent Agent in 1989. He has authored more than one hundred articles and papers on intellectual property, trademark patents, and copyright law. In 2012, he was selected Vancouver Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers; Preeminent IP Litigation Lawyer in British Columbia by Benchmark Canada; and Canadian Outstanding IP Practitioner by Managing Intellectual Property. He was also a Fellow of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada and of the Litigation Counsel of America.

Justice Catherine Kane was appointed as Judge of the Federal Court and ex officio as a member of the Federal Court of Appeal on June 21, 2012 and is also a member of the Court Martial Appeal Court. Justice Kane, a native of Ottawa, obtained a BA from Saint Patrick’s College and a LLB from the University of Ottawa and was admitted to the bar of Ontario in 1982. Justice Kane obtained a Certificate in Public Sector Leadership and Governance from the University of Ottawa in 2012. Prior to her appointment, Justice Kane was Senior General Counsel and Director General in the Criminal Law Policy Section of the Department of Justice responsible for the development and implementation of a range of criminal law reforms and the management of a large team of Counsel and other professionals. Justice Kane joined the Department of Justice in 1982 and moved to the then Ministry of the Solicitor General in 1985, returning to the Department of Justice in 1987. Justice Kane’s primary area of practice was criminal law. Justice Kane was directly engaged in the reform of sexual assault offences and related sexual offences, the reform of the law governing persons found not criminal responsible on account of mental disorder and a range of reforms and program initiatives to address the role of victims of crime in the criminal justice system, including the establishment, leadership and expansion of the Policy Centre for Victim Issues in the Department of Justice. Justice Kane was actively involved in numerous Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Working Groups and other Consultation fora with non-governmental organizations. Justice Kane was a member of the Uniform Law Conference of Canada, and occupied various positions including ten years as secretary to the Criminal Section and as Chair of the Criminal Section in 2003-2004. In 2011, Justice Kane received the John Tait Award for exemplary public service from the Department of Justice. Since joining the Federal Court in 2012, Justice Kane has presided over a wide range of matters and has been actively involved in judicial education initiatives. 

PANELISTS

David Reive is a partner and the National Speciality Group Lead for Intellectual Property at Miller Thomson LLP. David practices primarily in the area of intellectual property litigation and represents clients in all forms of IP cases, having litigated patent cases involving diverse technology, such as oil field equipment, medical devices, software, and pharmaceutical products, and trade mark cases involving food products, footwear, apparel, and benefits programs. David’s expertise and advocacy skills have been widely recognized. David is listed in Best Lawyers of Canada for both Biotechnology Law (since 2008) and Intellectual Property Law (since 2015). He is listed in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as “repeatedly recommended” for intellectual property. David also has been listed in Intellectual Property Magazine’s IAM Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners.

Christopher C. Van Barr is one of Canada's leading intellectual property litigators. He has accumulated considerable first-chair experience in complex patent litigation as well as in trademark and copyright litigation. He also has a particular expertise in trade secret litigation and in computer anti-piracy disputes. Chris, who is noted for his strategic thinking, leads a larger IP litigation team which is privileged to act for leading international pharmaceutical, medical devices, aerospace, software, manufacturing and information technology clients. Chris is ranked as a “Litigation Star” for Canada by Benchmark Litigation and as a leading IP litigator by Chambers Global, Lexpert, Managing IP, and other publications. He was previously named "Canadian Patent Litigation Attorney of the Year" in 2014 by Legal Media Group. Chris has also served the broader community, acting as Adjunct Professor of Patent Law for eight years at the University of Ottawa and, presently, as Chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s Court Practice Committee. Chris has been a registered patent agent since 2000 and is in demand as a speaker where he shares his knowledge and thoughts on trends in IP litigation.

Beverley Moore practises in all areas of intellectual property litigation, with a focus on complex patent litigation and actions under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations. She also advises clients on patent portfolio management, including how to navigate IP Regulatory issues such as listing patents on the Patent Register, and reporting patents to the Patented Medicines Prices Review Board, Certificates of Supplementary Protection, and the Register of Innovative Drugs as it relates to data protection. In addition, Beverley advises on patentability, validity and freedom-to-operate issues, and aids in the prosecution of patent applications in Canada. She is the National Leader of BLG’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group and serves on the firm’s thought leadership committee. She also mentors several of the firm’s students and associates. Beverley has advocated before the Federal Courts and Federal Court of Appeal, as well as the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board.

Adam Bobker is a litigation partner at Bereskin & Parr LLP with over 20 years of IP litigation experience. His practice focuses on the litigation and resolution of a wide range of patent, trademark, copyright, and industrial design disputes, as well as intellectual property related commercial disputes. He has successfully obtained and defended interim and interlocutory injunctions motions, motions for summary trial and summary judgment, trials, and appeals in the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal. Prior to joining the firm, he spent several years practising commercial litigation. Before taking his law degree, he was an electrical engineer at the General Motors car-body assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario.

Yael Bienenstock’s litigation practice focuses on commercial litigation, intellectual property cases, and public law matters. She has experience in a variety of industries, including life sciences, media, oil and gas and consumer products. She has experience in patent litigation under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations, and related regulatory proceedings concerning leading drug products for international and North American pharmaceutical companies. She has appeared as counsel in various levels of courts, including the Federal Court of Appeal, the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Mark Edward Davis is a trial lawyer with significant experience in patent and trademark litigation, including proceedings under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations, as well as in breach of confidence/trade secret, anti-counterfeiting and copyright and design disputes. Mark is a Certified Specialist (Patents/Trademarks/Copyright) by the Law Society of Ontario and has successfully argued numerous precedent-setting intellectual property cases at both the trial and appellate levels. Mark has repeatedly been recognized for his patent and trademark litigation skills by publications such as Lexpert, Best Lawyers in Canada, IAM Patent 1000, IP Stars and World Trademark Review 1000: The World's Leading Trademark Professionals. Mark is the Chair of Norton Rose Fulbright’s Toronto intellectual property team. Mark is a prolific writer and speaker on intellectual property law and has taken active leadership roles in many of the leading professional associations for intellectual property law in both Canada and the US.

Sana Halwani is a lawyer and Partner at Lenczner Slaght, and leads the firm’s growing Intellectual Property practice. She represents diverse clients in patent, copyright, and trademark matters, including pharmaceutical companies, technology companies, fashion designers, gallerists and media companies. As the firm’s IT Partner and Chair of the firm’s Innovation Hive, Sana evangelizes the use of technology in and out of the courtroom by leading the firm’s Digital Default and technology adoption initiatives. Sana is also a diversity champion and spearheaded ReferToHer in 2019, a series of lists of experienced female lawyers to whom lawyers and clients can confidently refer work. Sana has been recognized for her professional expertise by prominent ranking publications including Chambers, Lexpert, and IAM Patent 1000. Sana holds a JD from the University of Toronto, a BSc in Biochemistry from Queen’s University, and a MA in Biotechnological Law and Ethics from the University of Sheffield, UK. She also clerked for Justice Rosalie Abella of the Supreme Court of Canada. Sana holds numerous volunteer leadership positions including Director of the Writer’s Trust of Canada, President-Elect of the University of Toronto Alumni Association, and Director of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada. Sana lives in Toronto with her husband, two sons, and a neurotic yet lovable Australian Shepherd.

Steve Mason is the Head of the McCarthy Tétrault LLP National Intellectual Property Litigation Group. He acts as lead counsel on some of the largest, most high-profile intellectual property cases in Canada. His focus is on developing creative, client-focused strategies and solutions that help clients protect their interests and achieve their objectives. As a litigator first and foremost, Steven is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer who brings an unconventional way of thinking to contentious IP matters. He is trusted by clients to resolve complicated patent, copyright, regulatory, and trade secrets disputes and respected for his litigation skills by peers of the IP Bar. Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business remarked that Steven “is widely regarded by the market as a ‘great courtroom litigator’" in their 2018 edition. Steven and his team won the Canadian Law Award for “Commercial Litigation Team of the Year” for successfully representing Bell and the National Football League before the Supreme Court of Canada in the historic Administrative Law Trilogy. Steven is an adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Faculty of Law where he has taught intellectual property law for more than a decade. Frequently invited to speak about topics in the field of intellectual property litigation, he enjoys sharing his wealth of experience to mentor young lawyers. He also co-authored Intellectual Property Law in Canada: Cases and Commentary (Carswell, 2nd ed. 2013) as well as Copyright: Cases and Commentary on the Canadian and International Law (Carswell, 2nd ed. 2013).

Alan Macek practises intellectual property litigation and patent prosecution, with a focus on electrical and computer-related technology. He has litigated cases in the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal, Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta and the Ontario Superior Court. Alan publishes the IPPractice blog and daily email on developments in intellectual property law in Canada and is a regular columnist for Slaw on issues in intellectual property.

Date: Friday, November 15, 2019, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Location: Moot Court Room, Jackman Law Building, 78 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario

AGENDA & POSTER

SLIDE PRESENTATIONS
Inducing Infringement
Non-Infringing Alternatives
Infringing but not responsible: Exceptions to infringement
Protecting Agreements and Confidentiality Orders: The State of Play
Use of the prosecution file history to construe claims in Canadian litigation
Use of prosecution history in the United States, UK and Australia
Opening Pandora's Box: Use of File Wrapper History (what it will mean)

MODERATORS & PANELISTS

Chief Justice Paul Crampton (Federal Court of Canada) was appointed Chief Justice of the Federal Court on December 15, 2011. He was appointed to the Court on November 26, 2009 and to the Competition Tribunal on March 18, 2010. He was recently appointed to his second term on the Executive Committee of the Canadian Judicial Council. From 2004 to 2009, he was a partner in the Competition and Foreign Investment Law Group at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, Toronto. Between 2002 and 2004, he was responsible for overseeing the OECD’s work in the competition field with developing and transitioning countries. From 1992 to 2002, he was a partner in the Competition and Foreign Investment Law Group at Davies, Ward, Phillips and Vineberg LLP. 

Panel 1: The Ins and Outs of Non-Infringing Alternatives 

Justice Robert Barnes (Federal Court of Canada) attended Acadia University (BA Hons. 1974) and Dalhousie University (LLB 1977).  He was called to the bars of British Columbia and Nova Scotia in 1978. He was appointed Queens Counsel in 1995, as a Judge of the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada on September 21, 2006 and as Judge of the Federal Court and ex officio member of the Federal Court of Appeal on November 22, 2005. From 1985 to 2005, he was a Partner of Burchell, Hayman, Parish in Halifax, Nova Scotia . He was a part-time lecturer at Dalhousie University Faculty of Law in 1986-1995. 

He served as Vice-President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Geneva, Switzerland (2004-2005) and President of the Canadian Red Cross Society (2001-2004). He chaired the Nova Scotia Barristers' Liability Claims Fund from 1993 to 1998) and was a member of the Canadian Lawyers' Insurance Association Advisory Board (1993-1998).

He was a recipient of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society Distinguished Service Award (2005), the Dalhousie University Weldon Award for Unselfish Public Service (2006) and the Order of Red Cross (2006).

Sheldon Hamilton (Smart & Biggar) is a partner at Smart & Biggar LLP, focusing on pharmaceutical patent litigation for more than 24 years. Sheldon graduated from the University of Toronto in chemical engineering (1987) and law (1990), and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1992. During his off-hours, Sheldon is an avid runner, finishing 26 marathons including Boston, New York, Chicago, Prague and Keene (New Hampshire).

Jordana Sanft (Norton Rose Fulbright,  Partner, Lawyer, Trademark Agent, Patent Agent) practises in all areas of intellectual property law, with an emphasis on complex patent and trademark litigation. She is a registered patent and trademark agent. 

Ms. Sanft has particular experience in matters involving the pharmaceutical industry, including proceedings under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations as well as patent infringement and impeachment actions. Her experience also extends to patent damages actions. Ms. Sanft's recent successes include matters on behalf of Roche, Genentech, Gilead and Pfizer. Her trademark experience includes advocating before the courts and specialized tribunals as well as advising clients on portfolio strategy and management. Her copyright practice focuses on authorship and ownership disputes and the enforcement of copyright. She regularly works with clients concerning the protection of their intellectual property portfolios and enforcement of their intellectual property rights.

Ms. Sanft is a frequent speaker on matters relating to IP and the legal profession. She is also active in numerous committees within the IP and legal communities.

Sandon Shogilev (Goodmans LLP) is a partner in the Litigation Group at Goodmans. Sandon has extensive experience litigating patent infringement actions, matters under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations and judicial review proceedings. He regularly appears before the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal on such matters. In addition, Sandon has provided strategic advice to clients in various areas including the sale and protection of technology and intellectual property assets.

Sandon has also recently lectured in patent law at the Queen's University Faculty of Law. Outside the intellectual property context, Sandon has provided strategic advice to clients on matters related to the Competition Act and the Investment Canada Act, Canada’s foreign investment review legislation. In addition, Sandon recently was counsel in a successful appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada that overturned a Supreme Court tax law precedent that had existed for over 30 years.

Panel 2: Protective Agreements and Confidentiality Orders – The State of Play

Justice George Locke (Federal Court of Canada) studied at McGill University, obtaining a B. Eng. in Mechanical Engineering in 1987, and LL. B. and B.C.L. degrees in 1991. He was called to the Bar in Ontario in 1993 and in Quebec in 1995. He was also certified as a specialist in Intellectual Property Law (Patents) by the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Justice Locke was appointed Judge of the Federal Court and an ex- officio member of the Federal Court of Appeal on April 10, 2014. He was appointed Judge of the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada on May 28, 2015 and Judge of the Federal Court of Appeal on March 7, 2019.

Prior to his judicial appointment, Justice Locke was an associate and then a partner in the Intellectual Property Group at the Montreal office of Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, formerly Ogilvy Renault LLP. He was registered as a trademark agent in 1993 and as a patent agent in 2000. He was also a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec and of the Intellectual Property Section of the Canadian Bar Association.
 
Justice Locke is a Fellow of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, and was acting as its Treasurer at the time of his appointment to the Federal Court. Before and since his appointment, 
 
Justice Locke has written and spoken frequently on intellectual property issues, both in Canada and abroad.

Trent Horne (Aird & Berlis LLP) is a member of the Intellectual Property and Litigation & Dispute Resolution Groups at Aird & Berlis LLP.  He has been certified as a specialist in all areas of intellectual property by the Law Society of Ontario and has appeared as lead counsel in a wide range of intellectual property matters at the tribunal, trial and appellate level. 

He has particular expertise in patent litigation in a variety of technologies, ranging from genetically modified plants to manufacturing equipment. Trent is also a registered trademark agent in Canada and is involved in trademark prosecution, summary cancellation and opposition proceedings.

Trent is frequently asked to present on intellectual property and advocacy issues. He is a contributing author to two publications on Federal Court practice and procedure (Federal Courts of Canada Service and Canadian Federal Courts Practice) and is a regular contributor to the Supreme Court Law Review. 

He is a member of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (serving as Chair of the Intervention Committee) and the Canadian Bar Association (serving on the Court Practice and Trademark Committees). 

Kavita Ramamoorthy (Fineberg Ramamoorthy LLP) is a Partner of the firm Fineberg Ramamoorthy LLP and has been practicing pharmaceutical patent law, particularly in the area of litigation, since 2003. Kavita has extensive experience in proceedings under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (on behalf of both innovators and generics) as well as patent actions and judicial reviews.

Kavita’s practice includes litigation management, preparation of expert evidence and both oral and written advocacy. Kavita has appeared frequently before the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal. Her practice also includes invalidity and infringement opinions and advising on a variety of regulatory matters. In addition to being a lawyer, Kavita is a registered Canadian Patent Agent and holds a Ph.D. in Toxicology.  In 2016 and 2017, she was named one of the Top 250 Women in IP globally. She frequently speaks on patent and litigation matters.

She is also an active member of WING (Women in IP Networking Group) which seeks to provide advancement, career advice and networking opportunities for Canadian women in IP. In addition, Kavita is part of the IPIC mentorship program.

Kamleh Nicola’s (Baker McKenzie) practice focuses on intellectual property litigation, with an emphasis on all aspects of patent, trademark and copyright disputes, especially in the field of pharmaceuticals. She has successfully navigated cases through to resolution in a manner that maximizes benefits to her clients. She has the ability to efficiently manage the complexities of litigation without losing sight of the overall case strategy, especially where the case is being litigated in multiple jurisdictions around the globe. In those instances where a case is litigated in multiple jurisdictions, she works collaboratively with counsel and client contacts in those jurisdictions to ensure consistency in strategic approach.

Ms. Nicola also advises clients on the regulatory aspects of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, including strategic advice relating to product approval and launch, marketing, labelling and pricing. She works with her clients to minimize risk and navigate the often complex Canadian regulatory regime.
 
Ms. Nicola is an active member of the firm's North American Diversity and Inclusion Committee. As such, she is an avid champion of diversity and inclusion both within the firm and the community-at-large.

Ms. Nicola is listed in Who's Who Legal 2019 for Patent Litigation in Canada and has been recognized in Legal Media Group's Guide to the World's Leading Women in Business Law from 2013-2019 and their Guide to the World's Leading Patent Practitioners from 2013-2018. Her commitment to excellence in client service was recognized by Baker & McKenzie's Global IP Group when she was twice the recipient of an award for being "Passionately Client Driven".

Ms. Nicola is a Past Chair of the CBA's National IP Section Executive Committee and current Chair of the CBA's Federal Courts Bench & Bar Liaison Committee.

Panel 3:  File Wrapper History (coming to a theatre near you: what it will mean) 

Madam Prothonotary Angela Furlanetto (Federal Court of Canada) was appointed to the Federal Court on March 7, 2019. Prior to her appointment, she was a partner with DLA Piper (Canada) LLP, and prior to that with Dimock Stratton LLP, where she practised intellectual property litigation. Prothonotary Furlanetto received many accolades for her work in the area of intellectual property, particularly in patent litigation and in the field of life sciences and was repeatedly recognized by many peer-reviewed directories as a leading lawyer in Canada in these areas. She appeared regularly before the Federal Courts, handling all aspects of intellectual property and a variety of technical subject matter. Dedicated to practice development, she was a regular speaker on topics such as litigation practice, procedure and advocacy. She was an active member of the Canadian Bar Association, serving as a former Chair of the National IP Section, member of the Court Practice Committee, one of the original members of the Federal Court IP User’s Committee and as IP Section representative of the Federal Court Bench and Bar Committee. She was also a Fellow of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada and a former Chair of their Litigation Committee. Prothonotary Furlanetto helped found the Harold G. Fox Moot, Canada’s only intellectual property moot, where she served as Chair for ten years.

Michael Crinson (Aitken Klee LLP) is an experienced intellectual property law trial counsel. His clients range from not-for profit organizations to start-ups to multinational corporations. In his “spare time”, he volunteers in his local community. As an escape from the contentious world of litigation, he is an active qualified soccer referee as his decisions are never wrong on the field. 

Nancy Pei (Smart & Biggar) is a partner at Smart & Biggar LLP and has been a litigator for over 20 years, representing innovative pharmaceutical companies primarily in patent litigation, including proceedings under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations. Nancy received a B Sc Pharmacy (1991) and LLB (1995) from the University of Toronto. 

Joshua Spicer (Bereskin & Parr LLP) is a partner in Bereskin & Parr’s litigation group where has practiced since completing his articles with the firm in 2004. His practice focuses on patent infringement and technology related disputes over trademark rights, copyright and trade secrets. Josh has experience acting as trial counsel in several significant patent infringement proceedings in the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal, and appears regularly on matters in the Ontario Superior Court. He represents a diverse portfolio of clients ranging from individual inventors to large multinational corporations. Josh is recognized in Best Lawyers for Intellectual Property Law, and authors publications on patent law, monetary remedies and civil procedure.