Licensing & Distribution

Our work in licensing and distribution engages intellectual property law, contract law, and regulatory matters such as privacy, competition law, and packaging and labelling requirements.

Licensing and distribution are now increasingly international. Our knowledge of international dispute resolution mechanisms, languages, and the assumptions and requirements of civil law legal systems allow us to provide practical advice to clients on international matters, especially where the issues transcend national borders.

Specific Issues

Specific issues include matters such as non-competition restrictions both on businesses and employees, confidential information and trade secret protection, pricing restrictions, ownership of the intellectual property, encroachment on the scope of the grant, marketing and advertising arrangements, force majeure provisions, exclusivity, technology transfer, sublicensing, supplier arrangements, escrow agreements, quality control and performance standards, termination and dispute resolution, and international trade sanctions.

In international agreements issues such as the choice of language, choice of law, and the choice of arbitration or court can be very influential in resolving disputes. Making the right choice in this area is increased by a strong knowledge of other legal systems, and especially civil law.

Notable Work

We have experience in licensing and distribution in the health care, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, nuclear energy, mining and smelting technology, medical devices, video game development, nutritional supplements, online entertainment, auto parts, furniture and appliances, the manufacture and distribution of ice cream, packaged foodstuffs (branded and generic), petro-chemical products, advertising and marketing, branded clothing and branded collectables.

We have also assisted international non-profit and charitable organizations in regard to these issues.

Specifically, we have assisted: 

  • a European supplier to the telecommunications industry that relied on trade secret protection to set up a plant in North America, 

  • a pharmaceutical manufacturer to win a precedent-setting patent infringement case in the Supreme Court of Canada, 

  • a European multinational to resolve a dispute over the development and distribution of a patented medicine, 

  • a marketing company to conduct international surveys to support advertising campaigns for medical devices, 

  • a Chinese manufacturer of pharmaceuticals and food supplements to enter the North American market, and 

  • a Hong Kong multinational to develop tri-lingual packaging and labeling for the Canadian market. 

  • a Canadian engineering firm seeking to license technology to state-owned enterprises in China.