Canada’s Intellectual Property Firm

Rankings & Recognition

Smart & Biggar a ‘market-leading IP boutique’ in 2021 edition of The Legal 500 Canada

Smart & Biggar is pleased to share the firm’s recognition as a ‘Tier 1’ firm for Intellectual Property in the 2021 edition of The Legal 500 Canada. Smart & Biggar has received this highest ranking in Legal 500 for the past seven consecutive years.

Smart & Biggar is recognized as “a market-leading IP boutique, with specialists in a full range of IP matters. A top choice for high-stakes disputes, the team acts for [IP] rights owners across a huge variety of industry sectors”

Smart & Biggar boasts five partners recognized as leading lawyers in IP. Congratulations to Mark Evans, Gunars Gaikis, Steven Garland, François Guay, and Mark Biernacki. In addition, Sheldon Hamilton has been identified by the guide as a recommended lawyer in IP. The firm was also recognized in Cannabis law with partner Alice Tseng recommended for her expertise in this field.

Guide researchers credit Smart & Biggar as having built “a particularly strong reputation in the areas of pharmaceuticals and life sciences”, making special mention of litigation practice leader Sheldon Hamilton, and of counsel Gunars Gaikis, for their expertise in complex pharmaceutical litigation. François Guay is noted as “a hugely experienced litigator with expertise covering patents, trademarks, copyright and industrial designs.” Toronto managing partner Mark Evans is cited in the guide as being “an authority on trademark protection, management and counselling services.” Mark Biernacki is also recognized for his work in trademark litigation and prosecution.

The firm’s work highlights include high stakes matters for clients across industries, including:

  • Successful representation of Bell Media Inc., Rogers Media Inc., and Groupe TVA Inc. in litigation against the anonymous operators, two of Canada’s most popular unauthorized IPTV services, operating under the name “GoldTV”;
  • Successful representation of Pampered Chef in litigation involving its PC logo, and alleged infringement of Loblaws’ “PC” trademark;
  • Successful representation of the Land Title Survey Authority of British Columbia as intervenors at the Supreme Court of Canada in a copyright-related class action brought on behalf of approximately 350 land surveyors of Ontario whose plans of survey were scanned and copied into the respondent Teranet’s digital database and made available online.

The Legal 500 rankings highlight practice area teams who are providing the most cutting edge and innovative advice to corporate counsel. The guide’s research is based on feedback from 300,000 clients worldwide, submissions from law firms and interviews with leading private practice lawyers, and a team of experienced legal market researchers. The full intellectual property rankings for The Legal 500 Canada are available here.

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.