Michael Shortt > Fasken > Montreal, Canada > Lawyer Profile

Fasken
THE STOCK EXCHANGE TOWER
PO BOX 242, SUITE 3700, 800 VICTORIA SQUARE
MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC H4Z 1E9
Canada
Michael Shortt photo

Position

Partner | Trademark Agent

Career

Michael Shortt is a partner at Fasken’s Montreal office, where he practices as a lawyer and trademark agent. His practice focuses on both litigation and transactional work, with an emphasis on the videogame and life science industries. A member of the Québec and Ontario bars, he advises clients on common-law, civil-law, and federal matters.

As a litigator, Michael represents clients in intellectual property, commercial, and public law disputes. He has represented clients before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal, the Ontario and Québec superior courts, and the Copyright Board. His litigation philosophy is based on obtaining cost-effective results through creative legal arguments. Michael clerked at the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Quebec Superior Court, and worked as a research assistant for a well-known commercial arbitrator, allowing him to bring a unique perspective to litigation and advocacy.

In his transactional work, Michael drafts and negotiates a range of commercial contracts, including intellectual property licences, service agreements, consumer contracts, confidentiality agreements (NDAs), and videogame publishing contracts.

As a trademark agent, Michael assists clients in obtaining trade-mark registrations in Canada and manages their global trademark portfolios. His trade-mark practice covers a broad array of industries, including software, videogames, and consumer goods ranging from pharmaceuticals, to food, to fashion.

Michael co-founded the firm’s videogame industry group and works for videogame development studios and publishers of all sizes. He reviews, negotiates, and drafts contracts in the videogame industry, as well as providing compliance advice for consumer protection law, language laws, and other regulatory issues.

Lawyer Rankings

Canada > Intellectual property

(Next Generation Partners)

Michael ShorttFasken

Split between its eight Canadian offices, Fasken’s national IP offering encompasses all key pillars of IP law — including patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs and trade secrets — where it provides full-spectrum support on litigation and non-contentious matters. The firm is particularly dominant in Quebec, as evidenced by its impressive bench in Montreal, which includes high-profile IP litigator Julie Desrosiers; IP head David Turgeon, who specializes in IP litigation; trademark partner Jean-Philippe Mikus; Michael Shortt, whose increasingly prominent trademark practice spans litigation and transactional work; and talented IP and TMT-focused associate Patricia Hénault. The national group also draws on Armand Benitah, who leads the team in Toronto, and Ottawa-based TMT expert Jay Kerr-Wilson.