Patent Litigation: Choosing Between the United States and Canada

Published in The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, February 2005.

Multinational companies must plan for, obtain and enforce large portfolios of intellectual property in every commercially significant jurisdiction. Owners of intellectual property around the world have become aware of the importance, on the one hand, and the cost and annoyance, on the other, of having to enforce patent rights in many jurisdictions. Of course, in the era of globalization of both trade and information, it is not only IP owners who operate across borders. Sophisticated IP infringers can and often do operate in a variety of jurisdictions. Although their first target market is often the United States, it is not long before they conclude that once established, it is easy and convenient to continue their infringing activities in Canada.