Junyi Chen – Partner at Blaney McMurtry LLP

What is your particular area of expertise?

I am a Partner at Blaney McMurtry LLP, a full practice law firm based in Toronto, ON, Canada. I practice intellectual property (IP) law with an emphasis on patent litigation and general IP matters in the areas of pharmaceuticals and other health sciences. I have appeared frequently before the Canadian Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal.

I am also a Canadian Registered Patent Agent and Registered Trademark Agent and have extensive experience in procuring patent and trademark rights for my clients in Canada. I counsel global pharmaceutical innovators and research institutions on all aspects of patent rights, from small molecules to biologics inventions.

What is currently trending in your sector?

Canada is becoming more committed to providing intellectual property incentives to grow innovations domestically. I regularly counsel pharmaceutical clients on procuring patent rights in Canada. Very few of my clients are domestic. Canada’s lag in pharmaceutical innovations became more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. I have seen a similar trend in other sectors. It is welcoming that both the federal and provincial governments have acknowledged this issue and are starting to take action.

For example, the Ontario government launched Intellectual Property Ontario in March 2022. This agency will serve as a go-to resource for IP expertise to help researchers and companies maximize the value of their IP and help them grow and compete in the global market.

The most recent federal 2022 Budget includes a review of tax support for research and development and budgets for investing in intellectual property and research.

How do you see the future of your sector evolving based on this trend?

I hope that with the financial support and incentives provided or promised by the federal and provincial governments, there will be more made-in-Canada innovations. IP professionals can help turn these innovations into intellectual property rights, such as patents.

How has the Covid-19 pandemic impacted your sector and what do you predict for its recovery?

We have been busy supporting our clients during the Covid-19 pandemic. We are learning to be more adaptive and technology savvy when working away from the office. For example, I just finished a virtual patent trial, which required a lot more planning ahead. Before the pandemic, we were used to push paper and tackle the physical pile(s) of files in front of us. What we saw on our desks was what we were going to accomplish. The pandemic has turned paper into some electronic data store somewhere, which makes it difficult to keep track of. We have therefore developed an online system for the workflow and it is working. I hope that the practice we have adopted during the pandemic will continue to improve when the pandemic is over. However, I personally look forward to seeing my colleagues in person and being able to travel to visit my clients.