Kohji Suzuki is a leading trademark lawyer in Canada. He is a partner in Smart & Biggar's Ottawa office and the National Chair of the firm's Trademark Practice Group.
Kohji's practice is highly diverse and covers all areas of intellectual property with particular emphasis placed on trademarks and mechanical patents. He calls on over 20 years of experience in counseling clients on the strategies for acquiring, protecting and enforcing their intellectual property rights.
Kohji works with large multinational corporations based in Canada, the United States, Europe and Japan, managing their IP portfolios. His clients also include small to mid-size companies that seek his help to accelerate their growth by implementing both offensive and defensive IP strategies. His current work in the procurement and maintenance of intellectual property rights is supported by an early career focus on patent and trademark litigation before the Ontario and Federal Courts.
Kohji has been listed annually in Euromoney's Expert Guides: Guide to the World's Leading Trademark Law Practitioners, and The Best Lawyers in Canada, under Intellectual Property. He is a Fellow of IPIC, a member of INTA (Design Rights Subcommittee of the Related Rights Committee; former member of the International Classification Subcommittee of the INTA Harmonization of Trademark Law and Practice Committee), a member of the Canadian Group of AIPPI and a registered observer of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association.
Kohji attended the University of Manitoba earning a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering (Gold Medal) before continuing at the University of Manitoba for his LL.B. (Honour Roll, Advocacy Prize). He was called to the Ontario bar in 1997. Kohji is a Registered Patent Agent (1998), Registered Trademark Agent (1998) and Registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.