Stephanie Chong is a trademark agent, lawyer and partner with the Toronto firm of Hoffer Adler LLP. Stephanie’s practice focuses on the acquisition, enforcement and maintenance of trademarks, including providing clients with business-oriented advice about their brand strategy from an IP perspective. Stephanie has broad experience in clearing, registering and licensing trademarks, as well as in representing clients in proceedings before the Trademarks Opposition Board and the Federal Court.
Stephanie has served on the Internet Committee, and Litigation Committee, has Chaired the Forums & Seminars Committee and the Indigenous IP Committee. She is a frequent speaker and writer on a wide range of IP topics, and regularly mentors students and young lawyers who have an interest in the IP profession.
Louis-Pierre Gravelle is a partner with the Montreal firm ROBIC where he specializes in the drafting and prosecution of patent applications and providing patentability, validity, infringement and rights to manufacture opinions in the fields of electricity, telecommunications, mechanical and information technology. He is a registered patent agent in Canada and the United States since 1998. In addition to the drafting and prosecution of patent applications, Louis-Pierre is involved in due diligence matters and in managing patent portfolio. He is also involved in strategic consulting for medium and large-sized businesses.
Louis-Pierre has served as a member of the IPIC Patent Practice and Professional Regulation committees.
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.
Alain M. Leclerc is a patent agent, trademark agent, lawyer and is a partner in the Intellectual Property practice group at Fasken in Montreal. He advises, guides and represents clients in connection with all aspects of asset protection, with particular emphasis on drafting and obtaining patents in Canada and the world. He has extensive expertise in patent litigation, having successfully represented clients in the Federal Court and Supreme Court of Canada.
Alain has been a member of the Patent Agents Exam Standards Committee for many years and chaired the committee from 2007 to 2011.
Sana's practice is primarily focused on intellectual property litigation. In patent matters, she has experience with numerous industries, including pharmaceutical and biologics, information technology (including software), telecommunications, gaming, oil and gas, and heavy industrial. In copyright, trademark, and trade secret matters, Sana has represented diverse clients including software companies, furniture manufacturers, fashion designers, and media companies.
Sana is frequently invited to speak on topics in intellectual property, advocacy and diversity in the profession. She teaches trial advocacy at the University of Toronto, and is a co-chair of its Academic Tribunal. Sana is Chair of the Litigation committee of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC), as well as co-Chair of IPIC's Women in IP Networking Group.
Prior to entering private practice, Sana clerked for Justice Rosalie Abella of the Supreme Court of Canada. Sana is a registered US and Canadian patent agent, as well as a Canadian trademark agent.
Curtis Behmann is a partner, professional engineer and registered Canadian and US patent agent in BLG's Intellectual Property Group. With over 20 years of experience, he provides strategic business-focused counsel to innovators and their business partners.
Curtis specializes in the drafting and prosecution of high-tech and mechanical patents and industrial designs in various industries including wireless technology, semiconductors, security, financial/business methods, digital media and entertainment, consumer products, medical devices, water treatment, oil & gas, automotive and transportation.
Curtis also specializes in industrial design protection. He is the chair of Canada's Industrial Design Committee.
Elizabeth regularly advises corporations on in-depth intangible asset management including licensing, contract, and transactional work with particular emphasis on assisting SMEs achieve their long-term legal strategy to leverage their intellectual capital and assist in the overall growth and development of their company. In her litigation practice, Elizabeth represents clients in matters before the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal, Ontario Superior Court and Ontario Court of Appeal. Elizabeth gained significant experience in the intellectual property litigation group of a major national firm and continued her practice at the nation`s top ranked litigation boutique before founding Dipchand LLP.
Elizabeth is a member of IPIC's Conference and IP Trade Policy committees.
Jonathan Auerbach is a partner, patent agent and trademark agent in the Intellectual Property Group. Jonathan has a broad range of experience in all aspects of intellectual property, including litigation, prosecution, licensing and counseling, with a particular emphasis on patents, trademarks and copyrights. Jonathan also has extensive experience in the acquisition, clearance, prosecution, enforcement and licensing of trademarks. He also advises clients on Internet-related aspects of trademark and copyright law, including representing clients in domain name disputes.
Jonathan is a member of the Patent Agent Exam Board and is a Past Chair of IPIC's Internet Committee.
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.