Marie Christine Bernier and Matthew Norton become Canadian Trademark Agents
Smart & Biggar is pleased to congratulate associates — Marie Christine Bernier and Matthew Norton — who wrote and passed the Trademark Agent Qualifying Examination and will now be registered to practice as trademark agents in Canada.
Smart & Biggar is at the top of the Canadian trademark field and is consistently recognized as one of the leading firms in Canada for IP. Having registered more than 100,000 trademarks in Canada and representing some of the world’s leading brands, we have also acted as successful counsel in many of Canada’s landmark trademark enforcement and infringement decisions.
Marie Christine is a member of our Trademarks team in Montreal and in addition to being a trademark agent, she is also a qualified lawyer in Quebec and holds an MBA. In her trademark practice Marie Christine advises clients on brand protection throughout the trademark life cycle and regularly performs trademark clearance searches and provides availability opinions, prepares and files trademark applications, and prosecutes trademark applications before the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. She also deals with transactional aspects of trademarks, including licensing, coexistence and cobranding agreements. Finally, she practices in the area of enforcement and litigation involving trademarks, copyright and industrial designs, and is involved in all steps of litigation, including submissions to the Federal Court.
Matthew is a member of our IP Enforcement and Litigation team based in Ottawa and in addition to being a trademark agent, he is a qualified lawyer in Ontario and a Masters recipient having worked as a research technician in the fields of cellular biology and genome-wide RNA interference screening prior to entering law. He works with a variety of Canadian and international clients of all sizes and spanning a broad range of industries to help grow and protect their IP portfolios. As a litigator, Matthew has been involved in a wide range of matters before the federal and provincial courts covering all aspects of intellectual property law, including patents, trademarks and copyright.
The Trademark Agent Examination is a certification exam designed to assess the candidate’s knowledge of the Trademarks Act, the Trademarks Regulations, case law and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) practicein order to practice independently as a trademark agent.
Smart & Biggar is widely recognized as Canada’s leading firm for intellectual property law, with offices in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary. We are leaders in intellectual property and technology law and have been serving clients for over a century.