EARLY BIRD BONUS: Register by February 26th to receive a special SconeWitch breakfast gift basket from Smart & Biggar
Join Smart & Biggar for breakfast on March 3rd as we chat with IP experts and business owners about the opportunities and benefits of an IP strategy to support your business objectives. You may see IP rights as only mattering to inventors, but IP rights take many forms and are commercial assets that can create commercial value for any business.
We’ll talk to women leaders and executives who have experienced the advantages and pitfalls of trying to navigate the IP landscape for their own businesses to better understand how IP can be leveraged as a key element of any good business strategy.
Meet the Panelists:
Melanie Ang – CEO & Founder, Backcountry Wok Inc
A marine biologist turned food entrepreneur, Melanie is the founder of Backcountry Wok. Backcountry Wok offers dehydrated Asian-inspired and vegan meals in compostable packaging for people on the go – in nature, at work, or anywhere food tends to be unhealthy, bland, and in single-use packaging. A portion of profits go to funding sustainability programs for youth.
Catherine Lemay – Assistant General Counsel – IP, HEXO Corp
Catherine is a chemist, lawyer, and patent/trademark agent with a 20-year career in private practice, in-house and in government. She joined Hexo in 2019 and is responsible for all aspects of IP, including strategically protecting, growing and leveraging the patent and trademark portfolios, managing IP-related litigation and negotiating and drafting of various types of IP-related agreements.
Lucille Perreault (MBA, CMA, CPA, PhD) – Essiac Inc
A seasoned executive with over 20 years experience in technology and finance, Lucille currently owns and manages a multi-million-dollar health supplement firm with worldwide trademarks.
Lucille also teaches at Carleton University, where her research focus is in finance, taxation, and innovation, and is currently working on a research paper on spin-offs and patent activity.
Moderated by Christine Genge – Partner, Smart & Biggar
Christine is a partner and member of the Executive at Smart & Biggar. She advises businesses from start-ups to Fortune 50 companies and innovators on securing patent, trademark and industrial design protection. Christine assists international clients in securing IP protection in Canada, advising on portfolio management, enforcement and freedom-to-operate, and works with Canadian innovators to secure IP protection domestically, in the U.S. and abroad.