James Green

About James Green

James Green is a partner in the Toronto office of Gowling WLG, where the work centres on intellectual property disputes. James takes trademark, patent, design and copyright cases through every level of Canada's courts, and also works as a registered patent agent and trademark agent: filing applications and guiding Canadian and international clients on clearance, strategy and enforcement.

Science came before law. James studied chemistry and spent time in a research lab, and holds an honours arts and science degree from McMaster University, earned summa cum laude. A JD with distinction from the University of Western Ontario came next, and James was called to the Ontario bar in 2010. James also clerked for Justice James O'Reilly at the Federal Court, helping on IP files and on judicial reviews of decisions made by many different federal boards and tribunals.

Today James is a regular presence as counsel at the Federal Court, the Federal Court of Appeal and the Trademarks Opposition Board. Dilution is a particular thread: James has acted in three recent Canadian trademark cases in which a claim for depreciation of goodwill succeeded. Managing IP's IP Stars counts James among the firm's generalist IP litigators who also take on copyright disputes.

James also writes and comments on where IP law could go. A 2021 Canadian Intellectual Property Review article James co-wrote argued that Canadian law should change so patent owners can prove infringement at trial more easily. And speaking to Law Times in May 2019 about a federal committee report, James pointed out that a resale royalty for visual artists, long recognized elsewhere, would be new to Canada.