The Patent 1000 focuses exclusively on patent practice and has firmly established itself as the definitive 'go-to' resource for those seeking world-class legal patent expertise.
Highly recommended - Individuals: prosecution
Those looking for strategic legal counsel and a well-rounded accomplished team should look no further than Ottawa-based BRION RAFFOUL. The outfit has a birds-eye view of the local and regional IP market, and is often praised for its dynamic and cost-conscious solutions. Managing partner Natalie Raffoul is one of the most well-known attorneys in town for the patenting of software, business methods and AI. She has helped shape, build up and commercialise patent portfolios for some of the industry’s best. Meanwhile, high-tech start-ups, universities and international corporations take comfort in the counsel of Art Brion. In addition to his unwavering prosecution services, Brion also comes in clutch when it comes to IP licensing strategies.
The managing partner of BRION RAFFOUL LLP, Natalie Raffoul is a world-renowned expert in the patenting of software, business methods, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and in the legal issues surrounding these subject matters. Ms Raffoul has been ranked among the world’s leading patent practitioners since 2014. In 2020 she co-founded a software company and launched Fortress.LegalTM, a platform that helps innovative small and medium-sized companies manage their intellectual property, contracts and corporate data.
Ms Raffoul works closely with companies to develop and refine IP procurement strategies globally. She chairs the McGill IPIC Summer Courses on Intellectual Property and previously was the director of the patent course. In 2019 she was appointed to the Ontario government’s only Expert Panel on Commercialising Intellectual Property in Ontario, which culminated in an Expert Report being published in 2020. In 2020 Ms Raffoul was appointed as a member to the Ontario Joint Ministers’ Roundtable on the COVID-19 Health Data Platform. Ms Raffoul acts as an expert for the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence established in June 2020. She is also the chair of the Green Technology and IP Committee of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property and the co-chair of the IP Licensing Education Committee of the Licensing Executives Society International (LESI), as well as the 2021 annual LESI meeting.
As a patent agent, Ms Raffoul specialises in filing and prosecuting patent and design applications for her Canadian clients worldwide. She provides advice to her clients, in English and in French, on worldwide patent filing strategies and portfolio management that includes trade secret considerations. Her technology expertise includes electronics, communications and networking, manufacturing, consumer products, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and mobile applications.
As a lawyer, Ms Raffoul works with her clients on IP enforcement issues in the pre-litigation context. She has negotiated numerous successful agreements for her clients that cover IP rights in Canada and globally. She is also experienced in drafting customised IP ownership agreements, software licence and service agreements, end-user licence agreements, material transfer agreements and non-disclosure agreements.
BRION RAFFOUL LLP is a premier Canadian IP boutique firm located in Ottawa. Since our founding in 2008, our firm has been committed to providing excellent quality service in a timely manner to meet all of the IP needs of our clients. Our IP and technology-focused lawyers are known for offering practical, business-oriented legal advice that centres on protecting your strategic intellectual property, as well as navigating competitors’ IP rights and the IP landscape.
BRION RAFFOUL’S team of lawyers and patent and trademark agents is exceptionally skilled in securing and managing IP assets globally. Our patent agents, with backgrounds in engineering and other scientific disciplines, are highly experienced in procuring patents in cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. We offer a complete suite of IP services that includes managing patents, trademarks and design registrations in Canada, the United States and worldwide. We are able to provide our IP services in English, French, Spanish and Chinese.
We have a strong Canadian client base that includes local inventors, small, medium and large businesses, as well as multinational corporations, universities and Canadian government agencies. Our clients operate across a broad spectrum of technical domains, including artificial intelligence, cyber security, telecommunications, electronics, mechanical inventions, heavy equipment, consumer products, sports apparel, metallurgy, oil and gas, microbiology and pharmaceuticals. From start-ups to universities and government agencies to both private and publicly traded companies, our tailored strategies help protect the IP interests of our clients worldwide.
Through our robust international network of associates, we protect our clients’ IP assets throughout the world. In addition to our Canadian clients, we represent a broad array of foreign clients seeking to protect their intellectual property in Canada both directly and through foreign associates. Using a results-based approach that has provided us with an enviable track record of success for our clients, we have developed a solid reputation with our foreign associates. We pride ourselves in providing timely, effective, and practical advice at reasonable rates.
Patent services
- Patentability searches and opinions
- Patent drafting, filing and prosecution services
- International and Canadian patent application filing and prosecution
- Infringement and validity assessments
- Due diligence reviews of patent portfolios
- Invention mining assistance for companies
- Advice and consultation on effective IP management and procurement strategies
- Patent portfolio management
Trademark services
- Trademark branding strategies
- Canadian and international trademark clearance searches and opinions
- Canadian and international trademark filings, prosecution, registration and renewals
- Trademark monitoring and watch services
- Trademark licensing and assignments
- Opposition and cancellation proceedings
- Trademark portfolio management
Design services
- Industrial design searching of Canadian and international databases
- Industrial design application preparation, filing and prosecution for any industrial product
- Industrial designs registrability opinions
- Industrial design infringement assessments
- Infringement dispute resolution
Copyright services
- Strategic advice on copyright protection
- Copyright registration
- Copyright licensing agreements
- Copyright disputes related to software copyright infringement
Legal services
- Strategic IP advice on the management of registrable and non-registrable IP assets, such as the interplay between managing company trade secrets and patents
- IP infringement dispute resolution services, such as mediated settlements
- Negotiating and drafting settlement agreements along with effective cease and desist letters
- IP licensing and procurement strategies
- Due diligence on IP purchases or licensing agreements
- Infringement opinions
- Freedom-to-operate and validity opinions
- International IP portfolio management, including coordinating foreign contentious patent proceedings (opposition hearings, litigation, and/or arbitration)
- Customised IP ownership agreements, software licence and service agreements, end-user licence agreements, material transfer agreements and non-disclosure agreements
- Consulting on trade secret strategies and management
- Reviewing and revising employment agreements and consulting contracts to ensure corporate ownership of intellectual property developed by employees and contractors