Cannabis Patents and Plant Variety Rights - Things to Know and Challenges Unique to the Cannabis Industry

Sheila Gibson Related Seminars and Products

Patent and Trademark Attorney

Aura IP Law, PC

Sheila Gibson is the founder of Aura IP Law. She started her career in Intellectual Property (IP) at a nationally recognized IP boutique and practiced at several top-tier law firms over her first 16 years as an attorney. She has worked with clients in many different industries, such as biotech, medical device, agriculture, food packaging, pharmaceutical, green technology, mechanical, sports innovation, beverages, and more. Sheila has counseled clients from the research and development stage to startups to small- and medium-sized businesses to large, publicly traded companies. She has advised her clients in all aspects of IP, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, branding, licensing, IP transactions, IP agreements, opinion work, due diligence, and product launch.

Having always been passionate about the treatment of diseases but feeling drawn toward a career in business she worked in the biotech industry prior to attending law school and pursuing a career in IP. Thus, she brings a unique combination of strong science and IP experience with a solid understanding of her clients’ business needs. Rather than tackling her clients’ IP objectives in a vacuum, she uses her clients’ business objectives and considerations to guide her IP strategy and recommendations in order to achieve her clients’ goals.

In addition, having received exposure to all aspects of intellectual property including some of the most complex prosecution, litigation, and transnational issues at her prior law firms, she learned to approach each matter with big-picture thinking that includes an eye toward global strategy and avoiding possible future pitfalls and/or litigation. Thus, her approach to her clients’ matters is multi-faceted with each facet of every legal issue receiving her careful attention and scrutiny.

Now free from the constraints of Big Law, she is able use her unique skill set and approach to provide more efficient and tailored legal services for her clients.

Anthony Parker Related Seminars and Products

Commissioner, Plant Breeders' Rights

Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Enabling investment and innovation in plant breeding through the granting of intellectual property rights. Supporting producers access to the newest and best performing plant varieties. Proudly serving Canada's agriculture, horticulture, and ornamental/nursery sectors, both domestically and internationally.

Poonam Tauh Related Seminars and Products

Partner

MBM Intellectual Property Law LLP

Poonam Tauh’s practice focuses on the drafting and prosecution of pharmaceutical, chemical, biochemical, petrochemical, and polymer patent applications in Canada and around the world. Her range of patent expertise extends to oil & gas, clean technology, cosmetics, personal care, pet care and consumer household products. Poonam also has expertise in the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations, particularly on issues relating to timing, information and drug submission requirements for listing a patent on the Patent Register. Poonam also has extensive experience in prosecuting industrial design applications, and applications relating to plant breeders' rights.

Poonam works closely with clients and corresponds regularly with a broad network of foreign associates to coordinate the worldwide management and strategic positioning of clients’ international patent portfolios. She is also involved in the preparation of legal opinions relating to validity, infringement, patentability and freedom-to-practice. Poonam also has extensive experience in prosecuting industrial design applications.

Poonam has a broad research background including practical experience in synthetic organic, polymer, analytical and organometallic chemistry. Poonam’s doctoral research related to the investigation of anti-cancer therapies, with a focus on the synthesis of building blocks for target drugs such as Taxol. She has also worked on the synthesis of drug analogs, as well as developed new reaction techniques useful in synthetic organic and polymer chemistry. Poonam has several publications related to her research in organic chemistry in such journals as the Journal of Organic Chemistry, and has presented her research at domestic and international conferences.

Poonam is a Registered Canadian Patent Agent and also has limited recognition to represent Canadians in patent matters before the USPTO.

Gretchen L. Temeles Related Seminars and Products

Counsel

Feldman Legal Advisors PLLC

Gretchen L. Temeles, Ph.D., of counsel, is an experienced intellectual property (IP) attorney and scientist who assists clients in the cannabis and psychedelics space in formulating comprehensive global IP strategies to further their business goals. She also advises clients in the biotechnology, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. Her experience includes patent portfolio management, both U.S. and international patent prosecution, patent landscape analyses, freedom-to-operate searches, IP due diligence, non-infringement and invalidity opinions, trade secret analyses, European opposition proceedings, and transactional work, including material transfer agreements, sponsored research agreements and licensing agreements.
Dr. Temeles’ experience as a scientist in the biotechnology industry is foundational to her IP practice and the practical, real-world approach she brings to solving legal problems. She was a group leader in a biotechnology company focused on small molecule drug discovery in therapeutic areas that included neurological disorders, inflammation, cancer, and infectious disease. Previously, she held research positions at the University of Pennsylvania, and Merck Sharpe and Dohme Research Laboratories. Dr. Temeles is a co-inventor on two U.S. patents and has authored peer-reviewed scientific papers. She holds degrees from Temple University Beasley School of Law (J.D.); Yale University (Ph.D., Biology); and the University of Pennsylvania (B.A., cum laude).