François Guay > Smart & Biggar > Montreal, Canada > Lawyer Profile
Smart & Biggar Offices
SUITE 3300
1000 DE LA GAUCHETIÈRE STREET WEST
MONTREAL, QC, H3B 4W5
Canada
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François Guay
Work Department
IP Litigation & Enforcement
Position
Principal
Career
François Guay is a Principal in Smart & Biggar’s Montreal office and a senior member of our Litigation practice. With over 40 years of IP litigation experience, François is among the most experienced IP litigators in Canada and has appeared before the Courts of Quebec and the Federal Court of Canada. He has argued more than 100 cases that have resulted in leading jurisprudence in the fields of patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright, unfair competition, trade secrets and computer related technology. He also has a vast amount of experience with extraordinary recourses such as interim or interlocutory injunctions, seizures before judgement, and anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy matters. François was recently named “Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year for Montreal” by Best Lawyers, “IP Litigator of the Year” by Benchmark Canada, a “Global Patent Leader” by IAM, and a “Top IP Lawyer in Quebec” by Lexpert. He has also received numerous other accolades and honours, and has been successful counsel in many of Canada’s most high profile trademark cases in the past several years. François is a Fellow of IPIC. Member of CBA, INTA, AIPPI, ECTA, LIDC and the International Wine Lawyers Association. LLL. Registered Trademark Agent. Called to the Québec Bar in 1982.
Languages
English, French
Memberships
- Fellow, Intellectual Property Institute of Canada
- Member, International Trademark Association
- Member, International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI)
- Member, European Communities Trade Mark Association
- Member, International League of Competition Law (LIDC)
- Member, Association des juristes pour le droit de la vigne et du vin
- Member, Canadian Bar Association
Education
Lawyer Rankings
Canada > Intellectual property
(Hall of Fame)The leading intellectual property boutique in Canada, Smart & Biggar focuses exclusively on IP law from its five offices across the country. The team’s generous national footprint was further boosted in September 2023 following its combination with fellow Canadian IP boutique, Ridout & Maybee, which added an additional 30 lawyers to the group. It also plugs into a significant international platform through its recent membership of the IPH Limited Group, which brings together a network of six firms across nine jurisdictions. In Toronto, Mark Evans
is a go-to specialist for contentious and non-contentious trademark matters, while IP litigator Mark Biernacki contributes strong experience in an array of patents, trademarks, copyrights and industrial designs. The Toronto team also includes IP disputes expert Sheldon Hamilton; Yoon Kang, who specializes in life sciences patent litigation and prosecution; life sciences expert Nancy Pei; managing director Matthew Zischka; Graham Hood, who was appointed trademarks practice group leader in August 2023, and Urszula Wojtyra. In Ottawa, key figures include Steven Garland, a 30-year veteran in IP litigation; life sciences patents and chemicals/bio practice group leader Daphne Lainson, who was also appointed in August 2023; Elliott Simcoe, who draws on over two decades of experience in electrical and computer-related matters; and Kohji Suzuki, who utilizes a mastery of strategic IP enforcement. Montreal-based litigator François Guay is also highly regarded. Also in August 2023, Jean-Sébastien Dupont in Montreal was promoted to IP litigation practice group leader and Jonas Gifford was appointed patents engineering and ICT (EICT) head.