IP Pilot recently issued a report titled The Top IP Law Firms in Canada 2018-2022, discussing the major representatives in the country and trends observed in patent and trademark prosecution. Amongst some of the insights, the report highlighted the high dependency of the Canadian IP business on receiving prosecution work from abroad. Foreign filings occupied more than 75% of the largest 5 Canadian patent prosecution firms’ portfolios. Unsurprisingly, most of the applicants filing in Canada were from foreign origins, with the vast majority (over 60%) coming from the United States.
Given that receiving work from international applicants hinges upon the establishment of exchange relationships with international partners, IP Pilot takes a closer look at the relationships between Canadian patent prosecution firms and their international colleagues.
Representatives from which authorities sent most patent cases to patent firms filing in Canada?
Based on IP Pilot patent representations data, Canadian patent prosecution firms received approximately 112,387 patent cases from international representatives between 2019 and July 2023. To compare, the local associates sent 12,541 cases. In terms of the reciprocity ratio, on the country level, Canadian associates sent 1 case for 9 cases they received, highlighting once again the dependency of local IP law firms’ businesses on receiving work from abroad. Unsurprisingly, approximately 54% out of the total 109,166 patent cases received by patent prosecution firms in Canada originated from the United States. German, Chinese, British, French, and Japanese representatives sent approximately equal percentage shares and collectively accounted for 27% of all patent cases received by Canadians.
Country breakdown of Top Sending Law Firms to Canada
Which US IP law firms sent most patent cases to Canadian associates?
US Patent Prosecution Firms Sending Cases to Canada 2019 – July 2023
| Law Firm | Number of Patent Cases Sent to Brazil |
| FISH & RICHARDSON | 895 |
| KILPATRICK TOWNSEND & STOCKTON LLP | 662 |
| WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI | 608 |
| KNOBBE, MARTENS | 547 |
| FOLEY & LARDNER LLP | 529 |
| WOLF, GREENFIELD & SACKS, P.C. | 512 |
| BANNER & WITCOFF, LTD. | 506 |
| MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP | 442 |
| DORITY & MANNING, P.A. | 427 |
| COOLEY LLP | 422 |
| BAKER BOTTS L.L.P. | 417 |
| STERNE, KESSLER, GOLDSTEIN & FOX | 400 |
| WOMBLE BOND DICKINSON LLP | 394 |
| MARSHALL, GERSTEIN & BORUN LLP | 379 |
| GREENBERG TRAURIG | 345 |
| MINTZ | 331 |
| MICHAEL BEST & FRIEDRICH LLP | 327 |
| BARNES & THORNBURG LLP | 317 |
| POLSINELLI | 316 |
| MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP | 312 |
Given the dependency of Canadian IP businesses on receiving work from US patent prosecution firms, IP Pilot took a closer look at the ranking of American associates sending most to Canada.
Out of 38,926 cases instructed by the top 1,000 sending US law firms, 23% originated from the top 20.
As listed in the table, FISH & RICHARDSON, KILPATRICK TOWNSEND & STOCKTON LLP, WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI, KNOBBE, MARTENS, OLSON & BEAR, LLP, and FOLEY & LARDNER LLP were the top 5 sending US law firms to Canada.
Using IP Pilot’s decision-maker algorithm, it was predicted that American representatives were able to select partners in Canada in most cases. On average, only 24% of all the cases sent to the Canadian patent prosecution firms were directly instructed by the applicants.
Which Canadian associates received most cases from US patent prosecution firms?
Based on IP Pilot data, SMART & BIGGAR, GOWLING WLG, BERESKIN & PARR, BORDEN LADNER GERVAIS LLP, RIDOUT & MAYBEE LLP were the most trusted partners of the US associates. The first two received approximately 26% of all the cases, and the top 10 were in charge of prosecuting 71% of all cases, highlighting the relatively high concentration of cases in the hands of a significant minority.
