Protecting product designs and market share with skilled and strategic advice
From conceptualization, through development, to registration of your industrial design, our lawyers provide expert counselling and guidance at each step in the design process.
Effective counselling and advice on the protection of unique product features and appearance allow owners to retain control and exercise the right to exclude competitors from making, using, selling, importing, or profiting from a product design that they have protected.
Our highly experienced lawyers offer expert and focused guidance on every aspect of product development and design strategy, tailoring their approach to each client’s unique business and situation. With deep technical and legal expertise, our team provides strategic counsel on how and when to move forward with securing industrial design rights and when a client may be at risk of infringing on existing rights of others.
We provide advice and targeted strategies to clients to utilize their rights and prevent their unlawful use by competitors, including legal enforcement, commercial transactions and licensing. With our strength and experience representing clients in litigation matters, we also provide focused litigation opinions and strategies.
In addition to our experience in Canadian industrial design matters, we offer counselling for both domestic and international clients. Our extensive experience working with international clients around the world allows us to provide clients with a view on related global industrial design issues and the registration of worldwide rights.
Services we provide in this area:
- Prior art searches
- Product design clearance and freedom to operate opinions
- Industrial design validity and infringement opinions
- Responses to allegations of infringement
- Licensing, assignment and monetization programs
- Review of international design patents & agreements
Key Contacts
Related Publications & Articles
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A long and winding road: Canada nears the end of an ambitious project to modernize patent, trademark and industrial design laws
On July 30, 2019, Canada acceded to the Patent Law Treaty. This accession marks the near completion of a long and ambitious journey by Canada to modernize its patent, trademark and industrial design l...Read More -
Quick, Easy, Secure: Canada joins WIPO’s Digital Access Service for industrial design priority documents
Submitting priority documents for industrial design applications in Canada has just become more efficient! On April 1, 2019, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) continued the modernizatio...Read More -
Canada moves closer to joining the Hague Agreement with the release of proposed new Industrial Design Regulations
On December 9, 2017 Canada’s Governor-in-Council took the formal step of publishing proposed new Industrial Design Regulations (the proposed Regulations) in the Canadian Gazette.Read More -
Prepare for Canada Day by Reviewing Your Pending Industrial Design Applications
July 1, 2017, is Canada’s 150th birthday. But it is also the deadline for taking certain actions in respect of pending Canadian design applications.Read More -
Colourful designs and a streamlined practice get the green light in Canada
Today, the Canadian Industrial Design Office announced changes that significantly modernize and streamline six of its office practices, substantially benefiting applicants seeking protection for their...Read More -
Reasons to register industrial designs in Canada
Industrial designs have never been more important. In today’s highly competitive marketplace, a product’s design may be just as important as its technologically advancement. In recognition of World In...Read More
Related News & Media
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Smart & Biggar team members gather for and speak at the IPIC Annual Conference
The Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC) will host its 93rd Annual Conference in Ottawa from September 25-27th, 2019.Read More -
Christine Genge discusses the Hague Agreement and Canadian Innovation
Ottawa partner Christine Genge will be participating in the panel discussion The Hague Agreement: Fueling Canadian Innovation today at the Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa.Read More