Mark Evans > Smart & Biggar > Toronto, Canada > Lawyer Profile
Smart & Biggar Offices
1100-150
York Street
TORONTO, ON, M5H 3S5
Canada
- Firm Profile
- Go to...
Mark Evans
Work Department
Trademark
Position
Principal
Career
Mark Evans is widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading trademark lawyers. As a highly respected litigator, he represents many of the world’s most famous brand owners and personalities. Clients seek him out for his sophisticated expertise in trademark protection, management and counselling services to help them strategically build and protect the value of their brands. Mark’s practice spans the entire branding lifecycle and he has been successful in numerous high-profile, precedent setting cases. Mark has twice been selected as Canada’s “Trademark Litigator of the Year” by Benchmark Canada, and has been repeatedly selected by The World Trade Mark Review 1000 as the only Canadian for their gold or silver bands of all areas of trademark law and practice: prosecution and strategy, enforcement and litigation and anti-counterfeiting. He has also been named among the world’s “Best of the Best” for trademarks by Euromoney Expert Guides – an honour bestowed to only 30 individuals worldwide and named as Canada’s “Outstanding Practitioner of the Year for Trademarks” by Managing Intellectual Property. He has been consistently honoured by a wide range of leading Canadian and international publications, including the Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada, Chambers, Who’s Who Legal, World Trademark Review, The Legal 500, and The Best Lawyers in Canada. He has also been recognized by senior in-house counsel as a stand-out lawyer in Acritas Stars. Surveys, clients and colleagues describe him as “the best bar none” and “the ‘go-to’ lawyer” for trademark law. He has written extensively on IP law, is a frequent speaker and has taught at Osgoode Hall Law School. Fellow of IPIC. Member of INTA. BSc; LLB. Registered Patent and Trademark Agent. Called to the Ontario Bar in 1986.
Memberships
- Fellow, Intellectual Property Institute of Canada
- Member, International Trademark Association; member of the Law Firm Committee (2020-2023); member of the Leadership Committee (2016-2019); member of the Legal Practice Resources Committee; former member and Team Leader of the Law Firm Committee; former member of the Canada Subcommittee of the Anti-counterfeiting Committee; former Chair of the Trademark Use Subcommittee of the Internet Committee; former Sub-Chair of the Internet Committee
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.