Christopher C. Van Barr, Partner

Mr. Van Barr is an Intellectual Property litigator. 

As a partner in Gowlings' High Tech Patent Group, Mr. Van Barr has appeared on cases before the Federal Court of Canada, Federal Court of Appeal, Ontario Court and Ontario Court of Appeal and has acquired a particular expertise in patent, trade-mark, copyright and trade secret litigation while acting for leading national and international manufacturing, software, hardware, automotive, pharmaceutical and agricultural industry clients.  He also has extensive experience in litigation concerning computer software anti-piracy and publicity.

Mr. Van Barr is a registered patent agent and drafts and prosecutes patents in the high tech and business method subject areas.  Prior to joining Gowlings, Mr. Van Barr was corporate counsel (intellectual property/litigation) with Corel Corporation.

During his practice, Mr. Van Barr has accumulated extensive experience advising clients on intellectual property issues including the transfer of intellectual property interests.  He is presently an adjunct professor of intellectual property law at the University of Ottawa and is a published author on high tech patent issues.  His publications include “Protecting e-Commerce Assets in Canada” published in Managing Intellectual Property as well as “Patentability of Software and Business Methods” published by the Law Society of Upper Canada.  Among other activities, he is a frequent speaker on intellectual property subjects in Canada.

Called to the Bar in 1996, Mr. Van Barr received his law degree from the University of Western Ontario where he was valedictorian and a member of the Dean Ivan Rand Honour Society. Mr. Van Barr is a member of a number of professional organizations including the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Canadian Bar Association and the Law Society of Upper Canada.