Canada’s Intellectual Property Firm

Carmela De Luca

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Carmela De Luca

  • she/her/hers
Principal
  • Smart & Biggar LP
Language(s): English | French

Carmela is a lawyer and registered patent agent in Canada and the United States and practices in all areas of intellectual property, focusing on patent matters, particularly for life science companies.

She advises clients on strategic global aspects of obtaining and managing patent portfolios, as well as in the preparation and procurement of patents and industrial designs. She works closely with clients including start-ups, universities as well as multinationals in preparing and prosecuting patent applications relating to biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, biologics, diagnostics, green technologies and other areas in the life sciences. Carmela is also active in the analysis of patent issues such as validity, infringement and freedom to operate.

While obtaining her Ph.D. from McGill University, Carmela conducted research in the areas of inflammation, signal transduction and virology. Prior to earning a law degree, Carmela worked as a post-doctoral fellow at a research institute of an international biotechnology company where her research focused on cancer cell biology, genetic engineering, genetic screens and genomics. Her educational and research background provides her with a depth of knowledge and experiences to assist her clients in a wide range of cutting-edge technologies.

Carmela is the founding and Emeritus Co-chair and steering committee member of the Greater Montréal Chapter of Women in Bio (WIB). She is also a committee member of the Excellence in Canadian Board Governance committee, which aims to increase diversity in Life Science Boards. She has been a faculty member of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada’s (IPIC) Patent Drafting Course and regularly presents at the IPIC/McGill Summer Course. She is actively involved in supporting entrepreneurs and regularly lectures on the fundamentals of IP. Additionally, Carmela is a member of the Advisory Board of the Clinical Innovation Platform (CLIP) of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre ( 2021-2023 and 2024-2026 terms).

Qualifications

  • News
  • Speaking
  • Industry Involvement
  • "Who Owns What? Intellectual Property Essentials for Precision Diagnostics", Canadian Biomarker Quality Assurance (CBQA), April 8, 2025
  • "Patentable Subject Matter", speaker, Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC) webinar series, April 1, 2025
  • International Women’s Day Panel, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo, March 7, 2025
  • IP workshop, Surgical Innovation Course - Winter Session, Clinical Innovation Platform (CLIP), McGill University
  • "Rising to Executive Roles and Board Governance", moderator, the 12th Anniversary Celebration of the Women in Bio, November 20, 2024
  • "Manage your intellectual property and other legal aspects", speaker, Dobson Centre, McGill University, November 13, 2024
  • "Patenting of T cell receptor technologies", speaker, Tak Mak Lab Reunion Symposium, November 1, 2024
  • Intellectual Property Lecture, Clinical Innovation Platform (CLIP), McGill University, October 2, 2024
  • "The “CANs” and "CANNots" of CANNabis [and psychedelics] IP rights", FICPI, September 27, 2024
  • "Intellectual Property: Considerations for Medical Technology Companies", McGill University, February 7, 2024
  • "IP Clinic for the Clinical Innovation Platform (CLIP)", McGill University, January 30 - November 25, 2024
  • "Introduction to Intellectual Property", Wilfred Laurier University, January 29, 2024
  • "NSERC PROMOTE Workshop & Networking Session", Panelist Networking Session, January 18, 2024
  • "IP Clinic for the Clinical Innovation Platform (CLIP)", McGill University, November 28, 2023
  • "Manage your intellectual property and other legal aspects", The Life Sciences Lean Start-up Program -  McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship, November 27, 2023
  • "MSc in Surgical Innovation – Intellectual Property II", McGill University, November 8, 2023
  • "Déjeun’aide – Breakfast with Leaders 2023", The Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation, November 3, 2023
  • "IP Clinic for the Clinical Innovation Platform (CLIP)", McGill University, October 31, 2023
  • "Intellectual Property – Strategic Considerations for Patent and Brand Assets", WIB-Greater Montreal's Excellence in Canadian Board Governance (ECBG) Program, October 27, 2023
  • "MSc in Surgical Innovation – Intellectual Property I", McGill University, October 18, 2023
  • "Intellectual Property: Patent Considerations for Medical Technology Companies", École de technologie supérieure, February 8, 2023
  • "Comparative Overview of U.S. Practice", 2022 IPIC/McGill Summer IP Courses, Wednesday, July 20th, 2022
  • "Comment créer de la valeur avec une stratégie PI", Centech and l’Institut TransMedTech, June 9, 2022
  • "Predicting Future Infectious Diseases and the Impact of Changing Climate with Math", Young Women In Bio (YWIB), February 24, 2022
  • "Intellectual Property: Patent Considerations for Medical Technology Companies", McGill University, Faculty of Medicine, February 9, 2022
  • "Preparatory Workshop 2: Introduction to Intellectual Property", McGill Clinical Innovation Competition (CLIC), February 4, 2022
  • "IP Strategy Masterclass I: The Fundamentals of Intellectual Property for Entrepreneurs", Centech, February 3, 2022
  • "Comparative Overview of U.S. Practice", 2021 IPIC/McGill Virtual IP Program, Wednesday, July 21, 2021
  • "Workshop – Prior Art and Freedom to Operate Strategies", 2021 IPIC/McGill Virtual IP Program, Wednesday, July 21, 2021
  • "McGill Clinical Innovation Competition and Awards Ceremony", McGill Clinical Innovation Competition (CLIC), May 20, 2021
  • "Careers in Science – Girls Ask Series", Young Women In Bio, May 13, 2021
  • "Intellectual Property: Patent Considerations for Medical Technology Companies", École de technologie supérieure, February 8, 2023
  • "Comparative Overview of U.S. Practice", 2022 IPIC/McGill Summer IP Courses, Wednesday, July 20th, 2022
  • "Comment créer de la valeur avec une stratégie PI", Centech and l’Institut TransMedTech, June 9, 2022
  • "Predicting Future Infectious Diseases and the Impact of Changing Climate with Math", Young Women In Bio (YWIB), February 24, 2022
  • "Intellectual Property: Patent Considerations for Medical Technology Companies", McGill University, Faculty of Medicine, February 9, 2022
  • "Preparatory Workshop 2: Introduction to Intellectual Property", McGill Clinical Innovation Competition (CLIC), February 4, 2022
  • "IP Strategy Masterclass I: The Fundamentals of Intellectual Property for Entrepreneurs", Centech, February 3, 2022
  • "Introduction to Intellectual Property", McGill Clinical Innovation Competition (CLIC), February 26, 2021
  • "Surgical Innovation 2", McGill Surgery (Faculty of Medicine), February 10, 2021
  • "Career in Patent Law", SkIN Canada, November 14, 2020
  • "Intellectual Property and The MedTech Entrepreneur", CENTECH, October 7, 2020
  • "Comparative Overview of U.S. Practice", 2020 IPIC/McGill Summer IP Courses, Tuesday, July 14, 2020
  • "Intellectual Property: Patent Considerations for Medical Technology Companies", ETS-McGill Surgical Innovation Program, February 5, 2020
  • "Déjeun’aide – Breakfast with Leaders", La Fondation de l'Hôpital de Montréal pour enfants | The Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation, November 22, 2019
  • "Patent Agent Training Course – Dafting & Prosecuting", IPIC, September 3-5, 2019
  • "Intellectual Policy Law and Policy Masterclass", Faculty of Law, McGill University, August 27, 2019
  • "Patentable Subject Matter Around the World: Life Science Inventions in Canada, Europe, China, Australia and New Zealand", BIO International 2019, June 4, 2019
  • I"s your Life at Risk? The current Situation of Life Sciences Patent Eligibility in Canada, US and Europe", Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC), October 30, 2018
  • "The Business of Patents", Concordia University, October 3, 2017
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Memberships

  • Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC), Fellow
  • Law Society of Ontario (LSO)
  • Women in Bio (WIB)
  • College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents (CPATA)