Jonas Gifford

About Jonas Gifford

Jonas Gifford is a principal at Smart & Biggar, where Gifford leads the Patents: Mechanical and Industrial practice group from Vancouver. Technology clients of every size work with Gifford, from start-ups and universities to small and mid-size enterprises and multinationals, and they come for patent prosecution plus strategic advice shaped around what they actually need to protect.

The patent work spans electrical, computer and mechanical inventions, and it isn't limited to Canada: Gifford helps clients obtain and assert protection in the US, Europe and Asia as well. Industrial designs are part of the practice too. Clients also lean on Gifford for opinions on validity, infringement and freedom to operate when they need to size up someone else's patent or design rights, and clients of associate firms in the US and other countries often turn to Gifford to secure their IP in Canada.

Gifford's background is in science. A B.Sc. in physics and computer science, earned with distinction at the University of Victoria, came before an LL.B. from the same school. Gifford was called to the British Columbia Bar in 2007, became a registered trademark agent in 2008 and a registered patent agent in 2009, and is registered to practise before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Since 2013, Gifford's taught patent law at UVic as an adjunct professor, and The Best Lawyers in Canada has listed Gifford for intellectual property law since 2015.