Daphne Lainson is a Principal in Smart & Biggar's Ottawa office who has specialized in helping clients to secure patent protection for chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology related inventions, and advising them on regulatory law, for close to 25 years. The world’s top innovators of pharmaceuticals and biologics rely on Daphne’s strategic advice and counsel across the life cycle of a drug, including during pre-clinical and clinical development through to marketing and loss of exclusivity. What sets her apart is her deep expertise in patent procurement and the various issues that can arise relating to patent linkage under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations, supplementary protection under the Certificate of Supplementary Protection Regulations, and regulatory data exclusivity under the Food and Drug Regulations, in addition to protection under the Certificates of Supplementary Protection Regulations. She is also an expert in market access issues and pricing for patented medicines under the jurisdiction of Patented Medicine PricesReview Board (PMPRB).
Daphne is actively involved in advancing knowledge within the industry through the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA); she is an AIPLA Fellow, Chair of the Fellows Committee, and past Chair of the Food and Drug Law Committee, IP Practice in Japan Committee, Mentoring Committee and Women in Intellectual Property Law Committee. She also served as Chair of the AIPLA Mid-Winter Institutes in 2019 and 2021.
Daphne has also supported BIOTECanada in its mission to lead the advancement of a globally competitive Canadian biotechnology ecosystem.
Within Smart & Biggar, she plays a key role as a practice leader of the firm’s life sciences practice and in client relations management, particularly in key industrial markets, such as the U.S., Japan and Germany.
Her contribution to the IP community was recognized in the inaugural edition of the WIPR Influential Women in IP, where she was listed as one of 80 international female leaders in intellectual property law. She continues to be recognized in a number of other directories, including as an IP Star by Managing Intellectual Property, a World IP Review Leader in IP and a Lexpert ranked lawyer for IP and Biotechnology.
