11th Annual UofT Patent Colloquium

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’ 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 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.