Support Andrew Currier for CPATA Board of Directors

Support Andrew Currier for CPATA Board of Directors

Headshot of CEO, Andrew T. Currier

Dear Fellow Canadian Patent Agents & Trademark Agents,

The College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents (CPATA) will hold its first Board elections from April 11, 2022 to April 14, 2022.  The College has taken years of intense effort and lobbying to realize the vision of an independent public interest regulator for our profession.  I strongly encourage everyone to carefully review the impressive line-up of candidates and exercise your democratic privilege to help elect a strong Board.

I have also announced my own candidacy to serve on the Board.  It would be an honour and privilege to serve you and the Canadian innovation sector.  I bring over 20 years of experience as an IP professional, having worked as a patent and trademark agent and lawyer for full-service Bay Street law firms and boutique IP firms and as in-house IP counsel for one US and one Canadian corporation.  I also co-authored a treatise on Canadian Patent Law with Stephen Perry and taught patent law at Western University Faculty of Law. I am a Vice Chair of the Women in IP Committee for the US-based Intellectual Property Owners Association, where I have supported several diversity initiatives to foster inclusion of all persons within the profession.

I am deeply passionate about originating patent drafting and supporting intellectual property for Canadian innovators and business.  My range of experience allows me to understand the unique needs and challenges of practitioners working in different environments.  On a daily basis, I apply these experiences in my role as co-founder and CEO of PCK Intellectual Property.  I am deeply familiar with the regulatory interface between patent and trademark agents and lawyers, as well as the complex cross-border regulatory issues involving our regulation as patent agents under the USPTO’s Office of Enrollment and Discipline.  I am very knowledgeable about the intricacies and patchwork of insurance necessary to cover lawyers and agents.  I have also spent a significant amount of time procuring the best insurance coverage possible for professionals and would be honoured to share that experience with the profession through this position.

Some of you may also remember that I took active steps last year to help ensure that Canada maintained reciprocal recognition of patent agents between CIPO and the USPTO.  I remain deeply committed to ensuring that high quality originating patent drafting and trademark filing remains available for all Canadians, and to strengthening our direct cross-border access to the USPTO for Canadian agents and innovators.

Overall, I believe in an effective regulator for our profession tempered with an open mind and respect for diverse viewpoints across the profession, all grounded in the recognition of our duty to the Canadian public to protect innovation in Canada.  If elected, I commit to bringing this energy and mindset to my work on the CPATA Board.

I would be pleased to hear from any member of the profession who would like to share their views and opinions as to how CPATA may best fulfill its mandate.

In the meantime, if you wish to support my candidacy, please forward this message along to any other patent and trademark agents in your network. (Only patent agents can vote for patent agent board members.)

Yours truly

Handwritten initials

 

 

 

Andrew Currier


PCK IP is one of North America’s leading full-service intellectual property firms with offices in Canada and the United States. The firm represents large multinational companies, scaling mid-size companies, and funded innovative start-up entities. PCK IP professionals include seasoned patent and trademark agents, engineers, scientists, biochemists and IP lawyers having experience across a broad range of industries and technologies. Contact us today.

The contents of this article are provided for general information purposes only and do not constitute legal or other professional advice of any kind.