As Chair of the National Intellectual Property Section Executive of the Canadian Bar Association, I want to remind you to register for the fast-approaching 35th Annual CBA Federal Courts Judges’ Dinner and CBA IP Day on May 29, 2025. For reasons beyond our control, we have moved the IP Day and accommodations from the Delta Hotel to the Westin Hotel, so please check up on your registration details. We are filling up fast, book now so you won’t be disappointed!
See you in May, when we will honour The Honourable Marc Noël, the former Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Appeal, and Don Cameron and Ron Dimock, who really need no introduction from me. I am also thrilled to announce that I will be splitting the hosting duties with Joanie Lapalme. Merci, Joanie!
Professional Development
I had encouraged you to bring forward your ideas for webinars. You have answered the call. We are currently planning two webinars for the Fall: (a) Current Issues in Social Media and Copyright Law 2025, organized by Mat Bretchtel and (b) Quebec Bill 96 – Strategies for Optimizing Trademark Portfolios, organized by Max Gagné.
This exercise is not limited to men with three-letter names beginning with “Ma,” so keep your ideas coming. We would love to hear from you how we can better engage with, and hear from, you and others in your firms. Drop a note to any Exec member with your idea or email our liaison Cecilia Milanesi and we will see if we can turn it into something to the benefit of all members.
Committees
Speaking of benefiting all members, as you all know, the real work of the CBA is done at the committee level and we have active committees in
- Copyright,
- Counterfeiting & Trade Offences,
- Court Practice,
- Diversity and Inclusion,
- Patents & Industrial Design,
- Professional Development,
- Trade-marks, and
- Transactional IP.
We also have active Branches within the CBA. If you aren’t involved as you would like to be, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
CBA Essay Contest
Students! The Intellectual Property Section Law Student Essay Contest closes on April 25, 2025. This is a great way to write about interesting Intellectual Property topics while planting a flag on your career paths.
Mentors! Help your students find an idea and encourage them to enter.
Mentorship and Teaching
Speaking of mentorship, let’s not lose sight of its importance. Keep those offices, coffee dates, and check-ups open – and if you are lacking a mentor in your life, please reach out to someone on a committee, on the executive, or someone within your workplace to make a connection. We all feel better about ourselves, and the other person, when we come together. Invite them to the IP Day and the Judges Dinner and go out of your way to connect them with others in your community. If you see a young lawyer sitting or standing alone, go up to them, introduce yourself and bring them into a conversation that will (trust me) change your life. It will certainly change theirs.
Onward!
Chair of the CBA Intellectual Property Section
Andrew Shaughnessy