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LUDLOWLAW INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW & ADVOCACY Gregory C. Ludlow, B.A., LL.B., C.S. David G. Allsebrook, M.B.A., LL.B., B.C.L. Assisting enterprises in acquiring and enforcing suitable protection for their creative ideas. C.S. Certified Specialist: Intellectual Property (Trade-Mark & Copyright) Law CRE A TI V I TY I NNOV A TI ON B RANDI NG 1400 – 439 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1Y8 Tel: 416-408-4565 Fax: 416-408-4569 www.lud lowlaw. c a property," says Beaubien. "The last time we had a downturn in the economy was when the dot-com bubble burst and a lot of investors in venture capital became more cautious about where they put their money. They started asking for more reassurance about their investments and were requesting that intellectual property due diligence was done so there was sufficient protec- tion in place." Beaubien, who is also past chairwoman of the CBA's IP sec- tion and teaches patent law in Toronto, says some clients take measures to protect their properties more rigorously in a reces- sionary environment. "Conventionally it has meant that in the patent areas, companies do tend to cut back and then file fewer patent applica- tions but it could mean that businesses ntitled-1 1 2/11/09 9:36:50 AM "IP law is certainly becoming a more prominent area of specialty and the bar has grown considerably as our economy has become more focused on innovation and the protection of intellectual property." — SUSAN BEAUBIEN, MACERA & JARZYNA LLP will become more aggressive about pro- tecting or acquiring market share that they wouldn't be able to do any other way or that they may be at risk to los- ing to a competitor," she says. "So they may be inclined to fight to keep what they have and in certain circumstances, it could mean the cost-benefit ratio to enforce an intellectual property or to invalidate the intellectual property rights of a competitor would tip in favour of litigating." Accordingly, she says there will cer- tainly be no shortage of topics for dis- cussion at this year's event in the context of the current economy and ongoing efforts by both the bench and the bar 48 M ARCH 2009 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com