Jay Zakaïb

Jay Zakaïb is an intellectual property litigation partner in Gowling WLG's Ottawa and Montreal offices. He acts primarily for IP rights' holders to maintain exclusivity or obtain monetary relief from infringement, and for advice on trade secrets and competition law issues. For more than twenty years, Jay has appeared before Canadian courts and regulatory bodies to advocate for his clients.

The primary focus of Jay's practice is patent litigation. Clients with valuable technologies have retained Jay to enforce and protect their intellectual property before all levels of the Canadian court system. He has experience in a variety of industry sectors, including:

  • Life sciences 
  • Material sciences
  • Petrochemical 
  • Agri-food
  • Manufacturing

From foods, pharmaceuticals, aeronautics, agri-food, consumer products and electronics, Jay has consulted for numerous national and international companies to help shape their strategy for acquiring and enforcing their intellectual property and securing their markets.

Aside from IP enforcement, Jay has judicially reviewed regulatory decisions in respect of foods, drugs, natural health products, cosmetics, consumer goods, and environmental protection. For example, Jay led the only team to successfully overturn a refusal to list a patent in respect of a drug under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations – an essential step for patent linkage and market protection in the pharmaceutical industry.  

He has advised and litigated the judicial review of administrative decisions issued from the Registrar of Trademarks (and delegates), the Commissioner of Patents, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Industry, and the Minister of the Environment.

For trademark owners, Jay has handled a variety of trademark litigation cases for brand owners on enforcement and validity issues for their trademark rights. His previous work includes cases of cybersquatting and the effects of passing off on goodwill and reputation, and obtaining interlocutory and permanent injunctive remedies.   

As a licensed patent agent, Jay also advises clients on managing patent prosecution and regulatory requirements to secure appropriate product protection. He is experienced with patent term extension strategies, regulatory strategies, and, where available, data protection.

For many years, Jay was a lecturer at the Faculty of Law for the University of Ottawa, teaching introduction to intellectual property, patent law, and intellectual property litigation. He has also lectured on patent law at the Fordham IP conference, and has spoken at Bio-Europe on technology transfer and IP protection.

Prior to his legal studies, Jay worked as a chemical engineer to support manufacturing for several microelectronic companies, including IBM, where his chemistry and engineering skills were applied to research and commercial-scale manufacturing processes. He graduated from McGill University with a degree in Chemical Engineering (B. Eng. with a minor in biotechnology), and holds degrees in common law (LL. B.) and civil law (B.C.L.).

Jay is fully fluent in English and French, and has litigated before the Courts in both official languages.

Career & Recognition

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Memberships

  • Intellectual Property Institute of Canada
  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Carleton County Law Association

Jay has written and spoken on intellectual property issues in numerous settings, and has been a lecturer at the Faculty of Law for the University of Ottawa, teaching introduction to intellectual property and patent law for several years. He has given lectures and represented clients before the Courts in both official languages.