647-494-0369

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Toronto

English

Etienne de Villiers

Of Counsel

Etienne is a successful intellectual property lawyer with over 10 years of experience in intellectual property prosecution and litigation. Etienne’s patent practice has focused on the mechanical, electrical and high technology fields to take advantage of his technical background.

Etienne’s broad patent drafting and prosecution experience includes medical devices, sensors, document imaging, business methods, automation and manufacturing, construction, mining and ore processing, wireless communication, electronic messaging, device security and encryption, data compression and related technologies. Over the years, Etienne has built strong relationships with a network of associates around the world to assist his clients in the worldwide prosecution of their patents.

Etienne has assisted clients with obtaining and maintaining their intellectual property portfolios around the world. Etienne has obtained granted patents, trademarks, and industrial designs (design patents) for his clients in multiple jurisdictions including Canada, U.S., Europe, Japan, China, Taiwan, India, countries in Latin America, South America, and more. He has appealed cases to the Canadian Patent Appeal Board and the Canadian Trademarks Opposition Board to obtain favorable outcomes for his clients.

Etienne has worked on large complex patent litigation matters in the Federal Court of Canada covering areas such as mining, wi-fi routers, construction, and document imaging. He has appeared before the Federal Court, as well as prepared written materials for submission at the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada.

He holds an undergraduate degree in Engineering Physics and a masters degree in Mechanical Engineering. Etienne’s research experience includes machine vision, intelligent machining, and medical image processing for CNC machining.

Etienne is the author or joint author of several articles on intellectual property topics published in various print and online publications, as well as a regular speaker for the Federated Press.

Etienne is a registered Canadian Patent & Trademark Agent. Etienne also has limited recognition to represent Canadians in patent matters before the USPTO.

Education

• B.A.Sc. (Engineering Physics), Queen’s University
• M.Eng. (Mechanical Engineering), McMaster University
• LL.B., University of British Columbia

Professional Involvement

• Law Society of Ontario
• Canadian Bar Association (CBA)
• International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys (FICPI)
• Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC) – Associate member
• Toronto Intellectual Property Group (TIPG) - member & past Chair

Selected Publications & Presentations

• Intellectual Property chapter, Bullen & Leake & Jacob's Canadian Precedents of Pleadings, Carswell (co-author)
• "8th Cloud Computing Law Course", Federated Press, Toronto, March 2015 (co-lecturer)
• "Open Source Software", Federated Press 9th Internet Law, Toronto, Dec 2014
• "7th Cloud Computing Law Course", Federated Press, Toronto, March 2014
• "Open Source Software", Federated Press 8th Internet Law, Toronto, Dec 2013 
• "Open Source Software", Federated Press 7th Internet Law, Toronto, Dec 2012
• "IP: What's in it for you", University of Guelph, March 2012
• "Business methods and patentable subject matter - Canada (A.G.) v. Amazon.com, Inc., Fed CA", Osgoode Continuing Education, Feb 2012 (panelist)
• Federated Press 6th Internet Law Course, co-lecturer, Toronto, Dec 2011
• "IP. What's in it for you?", CIPO/OCAD University, Toronto, October 2011
• "The Patent Prosecution Highway - Canada as an Office of First Filing", ABA Landslide, Jan/Feb 2010.

Practice Areas

• Patents
• Litigation
• Trademarks
• Industrial Designs
• Copyrights
• Licensing & IP Transactions
• Trade-Secret Programs
• Due Diligence
• Strategic Analysis

Technology Areas

• Medical devices
• Digital data networks
• Wireless networking equipment
• Digital radio
• Computers and networking devices
• Software, compression algorithms and encryption
• Oil & gas mining and processing
• Insulated Concrete Formwork
• Lumber CNC machining
• Fuel cells
• Electrical (low and high voltage)