Tim Lowman is head of the Aird & Berlis' Intellectual Property Group and a member of its Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group. He is known as a client-centric, forward-thinking, detail-oriented and personable lawyer. Clients and colleagues recommend him for his consistent excellence in the diverse areas in which he practices. He is a Certified Specialist in civil litigation as well as a registered Canadian Trademark Agent, a Certified Arbitrator and a Certified Licensing Professional.
Tim has more than 35 years of experience as counsel in a broad range of commercial and intellectual property litigation, including patent, trademark, copyright, professional errors and omissions, trade secrets, invention ownership, product liability and employment law claims.
Tim is Chair of IPIC's Insurance Committee.
Heather Mueller is a registered Patent Agent in both Canada and the US, with more than two decades of career experience in Intellectual Property and Innovation Management. She has worked with inventors, investors, and entrepreneurs all across the innovation spectrum, including the energy sector, chemical and agricultural products, industrial processing methods, pharmaceuticals / biologics, and renewable energy. At NCS Multistage, Heather develops and leads corporate IP policy, including strategies for IP protection, positioning, de-risking, and enforcement.
Heather chairs IPIC's In-house Practitioners Community and is a member of the Patent Agent Examination Standards Committee.
Paula has over 26 years of experience as a corporate/commercial and trademark lawyer and is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a Specialist in IP (Trademarks). Her background in business and intellectual property law is an asset to her clients. Paula has a significant local practice, and her clients range from start-ups and SMEs to publicly-traded companies.
Paula served on IPIC's Board of Directors from 2018 to 2020. She has also served as Chair of IPIC’s Indigenous IP Committee, the International Trademark Issues Committee and the Sole and Small Practice Network.
Nathaniel is an intellectual property litigator and strategist, with an emphasis on patent, commercial IP, and IP-adjacent life sciences regulatory issues. Nathaniel’s litigation practice includes all types of technology-driven IP litigation. He acted in Canada’s first litigation involving the patentability of human genes and in litigation that led to revamping of Canadian Intellectual Property Office guidelines for patentability of computer-implemented subject-matter. Nathaniel is a registered Canadian patent and trademark agent and serves numerous emerging and high-growth company clients on mission-critical IP issues. Nathaniel also formerly chaired IPIC’s Life Sciences Committee.
Nathaniel also has a depth of experience advising on international trade-related intellectual property matters, having served as Chair of IPIC’s IP Trade Policy Committee during Canada’s negotiation of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Louis-Pierre Gravelle is a partner with Bereskin & Parr LLP, and a member of the Electrical & Computer Technology practice group. He is a recognized leading professional in the high-tech and artificial intelligence areas. Louis-Pierre’s practice focuses on patent and technology law, particularly obtaining and leveraging intellectual property rights for startups, SMEs and large companies to support them in their commercial growth and business success.
Louis-Pierre has served as a member of the IPIC Patent Practice and Professional Regulation committees.
Béatrice T. Ngatcha is a lawyer and patent agent in Lavery’s intellectual property group. She is a patent agent registered to practice in Canada and the United States. She is also a lawyer called to the Ontario Bar and a member of the Quebec Bar (c.j.c). Béatrice holds a doctoral degree in chemistry from Université Laval and has been a post-doctoral fellow at the National Research Council in Ottawa. In addition to a busy patent prosecution practice serving Canadian and foreign clients, Beatrice’s expertise in sought in the areas of intellectual property litigation, trade secrets, due diligence, strategy, portfolio value building, licensing and arbitration.
Béatrice was the Editor of the CIPR from 2019 to 2021 and the Chair of IPIC's Membership & Information Committee from 2015 to 2019.
Jason Markwell is a leading intellectual property litigator in Canada. He represents domestic and multinational corporations in a wide-range of industries, including life sciences, technology, financial services, manufacturing, mining and energy. He is well-known for his work on behalf of innovative pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in patent infringement and regulatory disputes. He also provides advice in regard to the protection and enforcement of trade marks, copyright and trade secrets.
Jason is a current member of IPIC's Litigation Committee and previously sat on the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and Patent Legislation Committee.
Jenn practices exclusively in the trademark field as a trademark agent with Coastal Trademark Services. She manages all aspects of trademark registration and maintenance including clearance, prosecution, opposition and cancellation. She provides practical, strategic advice to clients concerning brand protection and trademark usage. In addition to practicing in Canada, Jenn is recognized to represent clients before the United States Patent and Trademark Office in trademark cases.
Jenn previously served as chair of the Trademark Administrators Committee where she helped launch and develop IPIC’s certification program for trademark administrators. She has also been an instructor for IPIC’s Trademark Agent Examination Prep Course and a mentor in IPIC’s mentor program.
Jordana is a top-notch advocate, recognized on a national and global level for her deep expertise in all areas of intellectual property law, particularly in patent and trademark disputes. Jordana is also particularly well known for her expertise in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries, among others. She regularly acts in proceedings under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations, patent impeachment and infringement actions, judicial review proceedings, and damages actions. She also regularly works with clients concerning the protection and optimization of their intellectual property portfolios and enforcement of their intellectual property rights.
The members of IPIC’s Board of Directors are elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The Board is composed of nine members: four officers, the immediate past president and four directors.
Every member of the Board is elected for a term of one year. However, IPIC has adopted a practice which, subject to the vote by the members at the AGM, provides for continuity by allowing directors to serve on the Board for two years with two new members being elected each year.
After being absent from the Board for at least a year, a former director may be invited by the Nominating Committee to become the treasurer. This person makes a five year commitment: after being treasurer, he or she normally becomes secretary then vice president, president and chair of the board and finally, past president.
The Nominating Committee is composed of the president and chair of the board, the two immediate past presidents, and a fourth member-at-large. The Nominating Committee considers, among others, the names of IPIC members who, on their committee application form, have expressed an interest in serving on the Board. The Nominating Committee also takes into consideration volunteer involvement by members as well as the requirement of maintaining a representative Board of Directors.