Nuances of North American Patent Law

Thomas E. Feather	Victor Garrido
Deeth Williams Wall LLP   x	Dumont Bergman Bider & Co.
Canada	Mexico

SUMMARY

The presentation aims to provide AIPF members with a better understanding of the North American Patent Laws by discussing nuances between the U.S. Patent System (which most AIPF members are familiar with) and those of Canada and Mexico (which may be less familiar). Representatives from Canada and Mexico will guide the discussion. In particular, the representatives will provide: (i) perspectives as to how each patent system may be utilized; (ii) tips and tools for addressing a number of prosecution related issues at each patent office; and (iii) insights regarding the enforcement of patent rights in each country.

BIOGRAPHIES

Thomas E. Feather is an associate at Deeth Williams Wall LLP. He practices intellectual property and information technology law.

Tom’s practice focuses on the preparation and prosecution of patent, trade-mark and industrial design applications and the preparation of information technology agreements. Prior to attending law school, Tom worked primarily in the field of computer-based system development, generally involving large-scale signal processing and remote sensing using parallel processors. He worked as a programmer, systems engineer, project manager and v.p. of engineering. This work involved the development of various systems, including imaging (synthetic aperture) radar systems, satellite ground stations, sonar signal processors, image analysis systems and internet telephony applications. He also worked for several years as a biostatistician and was a member of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

Víctor Garrido joined Dumont Bergman Bider & Co. as patent analyst on September 2009, and currently he heads said department. He has acquired broad experience in Industrial Property since 2001, by working for some of the most recognized local firms in the field.

Víctor focuses his practice on matters related to the substantive examination of patents, industrial designs and utility models. Other aspects of his practice include prior art searches, clearance analysis, patentability analysis and technical opinions for litigation. As manager of the technical department, Víctor is in charge of the group of technical analysts responsible for responding office actions related to the substantive examination of patents, industrial designs and utility models, as well as maintenance of the corresponding rights.