Intellectual Property for Litigators 2021

Course Chair
Christopher S. Wilson — Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Vancouver

About the Course Chair
Chris Wilson was named "2019 Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year" for Vancouver by Best Lawyers and is recognized by Chambers Global, World's Leading Trademark Professionals, and others for his IP litigation practice.

Chris acts as lead counsel in trademark, copyright, patent, and trade secrets litigation across Canada. His cases include precedent-setting decisions dealing with topics such as Internet keyword advertising and domain names, the constitutionality of Canada's official marks regime, contempt for violation of an intellectual property injunction, and one of the largest monetary judgments for breach of confidence in Canadian history.

In his practice, Chris manages IP across numerous industries, including alcoholic beverages, software and video games, consumer products, traditional and e-commerce retailers, public authorities and regulatory bodies, financial services, natural resources, and many others.  As a former software programmer his practice includes all manner of issues relating to the Internet.

Faculty
Jasmine Der — Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver
Mark E. Fancourt-Smith — Lawson Lundell LLP, Vancouver
Amy Fong — McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Vancouver
R. Nelson Godfrey — Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP, Vancouver
Victoria Heppell — Director, Intellectual Property, Hoffmann-La Roche Limited, Mississauga
Kwan Loh — Smart & Biggar, Vancouver
Karen Fiona MacDonald — Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Vancouver
Barry Penner, QC — Vancouver International Arbitration Centre, Vancouver
Dana Turner-Ryan — Oyen Wiggs Green & Mutala LLP, Vancouver
David Wotherspoon — Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver
Vincent Kam Sun Yip — McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Vancouver

Click here for full faculty bios

Welcome and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:10)

Christopher S. Wilson — Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Vancouver

A Practical Guide to Patent Litigation (9:10 – 10:10)

• patent strategies to support litigation 
• pre-action steps to ensure the proceeding runs in a consistent and focused manner
• procedural options available to:
  • increase the chances of success
  • prepare for trial 

R. Nelson Godfrey — Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP, Vancouver
Dana Turner-Ryan — Oyen Wiggs Green & Mutala LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (10:10 – 10:20)

Tech Transfers and IP Licenses Gone Sideways—Pitfalls that Create Legal Risks (10:20 – 11:05)

• minefields in acquiring and licensing IP assets
• risks in IP representations and warranties and indemnification
• security interest in IP assets and insolvency cases

Amy Fong — McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Vancouver
Vincent Kam Sun Yip — McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (11:05 – 11:15)

Anti-counterfeiting and Border Enforcement (11:15 – 11:45)

• civil and criminal anti-counterfeiting regimes
• the 2014 Combatting Counterfeit Products Act
• the effect of the USMCA on battling counterfeit products
• the state of the jurisprudence

Karen Fiona MacDonald — Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP. Vancouver

BREAK (11:45 – 11:55)

Domain Name Arbitration (11:55 – 12:35)

• the Vancouver International Arbitration Centre (VanIAC)'s role in administering Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) disputes
• CIIDRC's role in administering ICANN/UDRP disputes regarding internet domain names
• differences and similarities of the legal tests applied to such disputes

Jasmine Der — Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver
Barry Penner, QC — Vancouver International Arbitration Centre, Vancouver
David Wotherspoon — Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver

LUNCH BREAK (12:35 – 1:05)

Trade-marks (1:05 – 1:50)

• introduction to the fundamentals of trade-mark law
• trade-mark litigation: typical process and desired outcomes
• lessons learned and practical considerations

Kwan Loh — Smart & Biggar, Vancouver

BREAK (1:50 – 2:00)

Copyright (2:00 – 2:40)

• recent updates in copyright law
• particularizing copyright claims
• contrast with trade secrets: when does an idea become fixed?

Christopher S. Wilson — Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (2:40 – 2:50)

Trade Secrets (2:50 – 3:35)

• the Flaming Moe Conundrum: inherent vulnerability of proprietary business information
• Coke or just Clamato: how special is the secret?
• weren't we just talking?: circumstances of confidence and confidentiality agreements
• the gold in them hills or the gold from them hills: how to plead and pursue effective relief
• when trial is too late: interim steps to identify and protect proprietary information 

Mark E. Fancourt-Smith — Lawson Lundell LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (3:35 – 3:45)

IP Litigation from an In-house Perspective (3:45 – 4:05)

• instructions and scope
• budgeting
• efficiency
• reporting

Victoria Heppell — Director, Intellectual Property, Hoffmann-La Roche Limited, Mississauga

Closing Remarks (4:05 – 4:15)

Christopher S. Wilson — Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Vancouver