Global Protection of Cannabis Brands - Is it Possible?

Mary Shapiro, JD, MBA Related Seminars and Products

Of Counsel

Crown, LLP

After 20 years in the book publishing industry and ten years at the renowned intellectual property law firm Townsend and Townsend and Crew, LLP, I started my own law firm in the heart of San Francisco’s Financial District in 2009. From there, I joined forces with another boutique powerhouse IP Law firm, Crown, LLP. With Crown, I counsel a broad range of clients in owning, enforcing, protecting, and profiting from their intellectual property.

Law is my second career, and I am passionate about protecting brands and creative properties. I have extensive experience in trademark selection, clearance, prosecution, and enforcement, including handling trademark applications before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and representation in proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), and Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy panels.

As the legal cannabis industry began emerging, I was able to start at the ground floor and strategize about how to obtain federal trademark registrations for cannabis goods and services. I've positioned my work at Crown as a go-to legal resource to cannabis clients as the industry grew, helping them navigate complex legal issues, such as securing trademark protections for related goods and services. I am also very active in the battle for federal legalization, or simply a change at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, so that owners of cannabis businesses can be on the same footing as other business owners regarding their capabilities to protect their brands.

I advocate for cannabis legalization and often do pro bono work for Americans for Safe Access, International Cannabis Bar Association, Marijuana Policy Project, Origins Council, and Sweetleaf Collective. I am on the board of directors for Americans for Safe Access, an organization dedicated to bringing access to cannabis therapeutics to patients. I am also on the advisory Board for the International Cannabis Bar Association, an organization focused on raising the standard of legal services available to the cannabis industry and advocate for the lawyers’ right to represent cannabis industry participants.

Specialties: State, U.S. and International Trademarks (Clearance, Prosecution, Enforcement and dispute resolution, Brand and technology Licensing), Cannabis consumer protection (Trademarks, Packaging and Labeling, Recall Plans), Trade Secret Plans, Copyright, Domain Name Disputes, Internet Policies, New Top Level Domains

Natalie Rizkalla-Kamel Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP

Natalie Rizkalla-Kamel is a Toronto-based Gowling WLG partner specializing in intellectual property litigation, trademark prosecution, strategic global trademark portfolio management, and transactional intellectual property work.

Natalie has a broad range of experience in all aspects of IP litigation at all levels of Court, with a focus on contentious work in the areas of patents, trademarks, and copyright. She has acted for clients from various industries, including: retail, cosmetics, manufacturing, cannabis, financial services, and pharmaceuticals. She is dedicated to understanding her clients' business interests and goals, developing an effective litigation strategy, and advising them toward favourable outcomes in each case.

Natalie is also a registered trademark agent in Canada, and her practice involves advising clients with both small and large portfolios on the acquisition, protection, and enforcement of their trademark rights in Canada and globally.

Given the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada in 2018, Natalie has also developed a niche practice at Gowling WLG in the cannabis sector. She assists Canadian cannabis clients in developing brand strategies, and has been called on to represent clients in trademark disputes (both in and out of court) with respect to their cannabis brands in Canada. She has also has assisted clients with numerous manufacturing and licensing transactions in the cannabis space. Natalie has actively published and presented about cannabis branding and trademarks, and was recently interviewed by the World Trademark Review about brand strategy and trends for cannabis within the Canadian landscape for an article entitled, "Cannabis retailers have their work cut out for them in terms of trademark and brand strategy" (April 30, 2021).

Natalie is an active member of the IP community, and participates in writing on new developments in intellectual property law. She also serves on the committees of several professional associations, including the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, the Canadian Bar Association (Intellectual Property Section), and the International Trademark Association. She also sits on the CLE Board, and is vice-chair of the International Action Group of the American Bar Association (Intellectual Property Section).

In 2017, Natalie was named a Lexpert "Rising Star: Leading Lawyer Under 40" for being at the top of the legal profession in Canada, as well as in recognition of her professional achievements and contributions to the community. She is consistently ranked as a World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR) Leader, and was most recently ranked in World Trademark Review 1000 (2022), the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (2022) for Intellectual Property and Intellectual Property Litigation, Chambers Canada 2023 for Intellectual Property and Best Lawyers in Canada 2023.

Prior to joining Gowling WLG, Natalie received an MSc in Civil Engineering from Queen's University, under a National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) scholarship, and worked as a structural engineer. She is licensed as a Professional Engineer (PEng) in Ontario.

Katie Paterno, JD Related Seminars and Products

Director, Legal

Canopy Growth Corporation

Katie is in-house counsel for Canopy Growth Corporation, a world-leading cannabis company focused on unleashing the power of cannabis to improve lives. In her role, Katie oversees Canopy's global intellectual property portfolio and serves as a strategic advisor to the company on brand development, protection, and enforcement, in addition to advising the business on commercial and compliance related matters.

Katie obtained her Juris Doctor from the University of New Brunswick, and currently resides on the beautiful east coast of Canada in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Thomas Verborgh Related Seminars and Products

Intellectual Property Attorney

GEVERS

Thomas gives legal and strategic advice on the protection of intellectual property with a focus on trademarks. He also assists clients in dispute resolution and drafting IP related contracts. Before joining GEVERS in 2020, Thomas worked as a trainee-examiner through the Pan-European Seal traineeship at the EUIPO.

Thomas is am a member of the Belgian chapter (ABA – BVA) of ALAI is the Association littéraire et artistique internationale who focuses on copyright. He won the ALAI European Authors’ right Award of 2020.

Arturo Revilla Related Seminars and Products

Associate

Chevez, Ruiz, Zamarripa y Cia., S.C.

Bilingual and fully trained attorney with an international academic and cultural background. I hold a law degree from law faculty of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and a LLM from the Georg-August Universität Göttingen (Germany). Completed the program International and Comparative Business Law at Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, Germany. I have broad and solid experience dealing with intellectual property matters (filing & prosecution, contentious, consultancy, transactional, etc.). Likewise, I possess thorough knowledge on IT, privacy, E-commerce and consumer protection affairs.

I approach the cases with a result-oriented, analytical, and practical perspective to comply with any required deadlines and exceed the client’s expectations.