Sonia M. Ziesche, PhD

Dr. Sonia M. Ziesche is an experienced patent agent registered to practice in both Canada and the United States. Based in Gowling WLG's Vancouver office, Sonia is known for her proactive approach and resourcefulness in pursuing success for her clients and leveraging intellectual property as a strategic business asset.

Sonia works with clients across biotechnology, chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, and agriculture technologies to design and implement targeted patent portfolios that support commercialization, competitive positioning, and maximize asset value. 

She provides strategic patent counsel to organizations of various sizes, including individual entrepreneurs, emerging companies, multinational corporations, and academic institutions, helping them align their patent strategy with business objectives to develop holistic, commercially driven patent strategies that maximize portfolio value in key global markets. 

With a background in biochemistry and molecular biology, Sonia has both the technical expertise and legal insight to deliver practical, results oriented solutions for challenging patent issues that frequently accompany complex biotechnology and pharmaceutical inventions.

Sonia supports clients throughout the full lifecycle of patent development and enforcement, including strategic IP planning, portfolio construction and optimization, patent strategy, patentability and validity assessments, infringement and freedom to operate analyses, portfolio evaluations, and patent landscape and competitive intelligence reports. 

Her practice has been consistently recognized by IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals. In its 2025 edition, clients described Sonia as “a life sciences guru” who “captures innovations at their peak to deliver market leading and forward thinking strategies,” noting her attention to detail, clarity in managing large patent portfolios, and strong analytical and communication skills.

Sonia holds a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of British Columbia and a BSc in Microbiology and Biochemistry from the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany, with a minor in Immunology and Organic Chemistry. She also holds a certificate in Bioinformatics (Bioinformatics, Genomics and Proteomics) from UBC.

Prior to joining Gowling WLG, Sonia conducted academic research as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia.