Theodore Sum

Theodore Sum is a partner in Smart & Biggar’s Vancouver office. His practice covers all aspects of intellectual property, with particular emphasis on licensing and commercialisation, patent and trademark prosecution, due diligence, e-commerce and online issues and counselling Canadian, US and foreign clients on the strategic management and exploitation of their IP assets. Mr Sum works with clients across a wide range of sectors including high tech, software and information technology, telecommunications, robotics, AI and machine learning, life science, energy, clean tech, chemicals, transportation, aerospace and defence, among others.

He is frequently involved in public speaking engagements and has written several papers in the field. Mr Sum is an adjunct professor at the University of Victoria Law School and has also served as an instructor at the University of British Columbia Law School for many years.

Mr Sum is listed in The Best Lawyers in Canada under IP law, IT and technology law, and recognised annually in The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and in IAM Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners.

Mr Sum is known for “blending creative flair with diligence and microscopic attention to detail when shepherding deals to close” (IAM Patent 1000, 2017). He is also “extremely thoughtful” when it comes to the best way of resolving an issue. “He’s professional, responsive, thorough, diligent and detail-oriented, a pleasure to work with” (IAM Patent 1000, 2018).