What Smart & Biggar-Fetherstonhaugh does

Smart & Biggar is a Canadian professional services law firm that practices exclusively in intellectual property and technology law, making it the largest and longest-standing pure-play IP firm in Canada with over 130 years of practice. The firm employs more than 180 lawyers, patent agents, trademark agents, and technical specialists organized around three practice pillars: Protect IP (patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright, life sciences regulatory compliance, and plant breeders' rights), Enforce IP (patent, pharmaceutical, trademark, industrial design, copyright litigation, and anti-counterfeiting), and Grow IP (strategic advisory, licensing, and transactions). It files more than 17,000 patent and trademark applications annually and litigates IP matters up to the Supreme Court of Canada. The firm represents enterprise clients across at least 24 industries including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum technologies, cannabis, cleantech, telecommunications, consumer products, and energy, oil and gas, with named matters for customers such as Boehringer Ingelheim, Nova Chemicals, Dow Chemical, Loblaws, Bauer Hockey, and J.R. Simplot.

The firm's core technology is its specialized legal-technical expertise rather than a software platform; no proprietary products, APIs, or AI systems are disclosed in the input data. Service delivery is conducted directly through six Canadian offices (Ottawa headquarters, Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Calgary, and Kitchener/Waterloo Region), enabling bilingual service and sector coverage across Canada's major commercial and technology hubs. Since August 2023, Smart & Biggar has operated within the IPH Limited group (ASX: IPH), an international network of IP professional services firms spanning 26 jurisdictions, sharing back-office functions and cross-border referral capability while maintaining independent client files from other IPH businesses. The legal entities operating under the brand are Smart & Biggar LP, Smart & Biggar LLP, and Smart & Biggar Alberta LLP.

The business model is hourly and quoted professional services billing typical of legal advisory firms; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is structured per engagement. Revenue is generated through prosecution, enforcement, and strategic advisory mandates sold through relationship-based enterprise engagement led by partners and senior practitioners. Distribution is exclusively direct — there are no reseller, channel, or referral-revenue arrangements visible in the data. Marketing and demand generation rely on thought leadership (Canadian IP Year in Review, Rx IP Updates, IP Insights blog), webinars, and conference participation (IPIC, INTA, BIO International Convention). Go-to-market remains relationship-driven with formal client strategy recently strengthened through a dedicated Head of Growth and Client Strategy function.

Name

Smart & Biggar-Fetherstonhaugh

Legal name

Smart & Biggar

Website

https://smartbiggar.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1895

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Smart & Biggar is Canada's largest intellectual property law firm, employing 180+ lawyers, patent agents, and trademark agents across six offices. It serves enterprise clients in 24+ industries with patent prosecution, trademark protection, IP litigation, and strategic advisory services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Intellectual Property Law Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Patent Prosecution & Portfolio Management (BPAHAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

IP & Patent Information Publishing (Patent/Litigation Analytics, Prior Art) (MPAJACAK), Litigation Support & Expert Witness (Valuation-Related) (BPAHANAG)

Keywords

• Intellectual property law
• Patent prosecution services
• Trademark registration
• IP litigation
• IP strategic advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Ottawa

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Legal Services: Billing for legal advisory, prosecution, and litigation services for intellectual property matters including patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and copyright.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Smart & Biggar-Fetherstonhaugh is Canada's largest and highest-ranked firm practising exclusively in intellectual property and technology law. The firm provides legal services for obtaining, protecting, enforcing, and strategically commercializing IP assets including patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright, plant breeders' rights, and life sciences regulatory matters. It serves enterprise clients across 24 industry sectors through six Canadian offices with a bench of over 180 lawyers, patent agents, and trademark agents.

Product overview

Smart & Biggar is Canada's largest intellectual property law firm offering comprehensive legal services across three main practice areas: Protect IP (patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright, life sciences regulatory compliance, and plant breeders' rights), Enforce IP (IP litigation, pharmaceutical litigation, trademark litigation, industrial designs litigation, copyright litigation, and anti-counterfeiting), and Grow IP (IP strategic advisory and licensing transactions). The firm serves clients across 24 industry sectors including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, artificial intelligence, robotics, telecommunications, and consumer products, with offices in Ottawa, Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Calgary, and Waterloo Region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Patents Legal services for obtaining and enforcing patents, including drafting, prosecution, portfolio management, and litigation enforcement across all technology areas for corporate clients and inventors.
• Trademarks & Brand Protection Legal services for protecting brand identity through trademark registration, brand protection strategies, marketing compliance, and enforcement against infringement, targeted at consumer-facing enterprises.
• Industrial Designs Legal services for protecting industrial designs including drafting, prosecution, portfolio management, counselling, opinions, and litigation enforcement for manufacturers and designers.
• Copyright & Digital Media Legal services for copyright registration, digital media protection, counselling, transactions, licensing, and litigation enforcement for media, software, and digital content clients.
• Life Sciences Regulatory & Compliance Regulatory and compliance services for life sciences companies including drug approval, Health Canada submissions, and regulatory strategy targeted at pharmaceutical and biotech enterprises.
• Plant Breeders' Rights Legal services for protecting plant breeder rights including registration, enforcement, and licensing of plant varieties for agricultural and agribusiness clients.
• IP Litigation & Enforcement Legal services for IP litigation including patent, pharmaceutical, trademark, industrial designs, and copyright enforcement proceedings before Canadian courts including the Federal Court and Supreme Court of Canada.
• IP Strategic Advisory Strategic advisory services for IP portfolio management, licensing, transactions, due diligence, audits, valuations, and M&A support targeted at enterprise clients and investors.
• IP Crime & Anti-Counterfeiting Services for anti-counterfeiting enforcement, border protection, and criminal prosecution of IP crimes for consumer goods manufacturers and brand owners.

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Ridout & MaybeemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 August 2023Ridout & Maybee was merging with Smart & Biggar to form a larger IP firm under the Smart & Biggar brand. The transaction was expected to complete on September 29, 2023, strengthening IPH's presence and service offerings in Canada. Both firms continued to operate independently until the merger completion.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Oblon, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt: US-based IP boutique specializing in patent prosecution, post-grant proceedings, and litigation. Comparable specialty IP focus and high-end client base, operating in adjacent cross-border mandates.
• Goodwin Procter: US-headquartered full-service firm with a sizeable IP practice and growing Canadian presence through tech-focused acquisitions. Competes for IP mandates in life sciences, tech, and high-growth Canadian clients.
• Fish & Richardson: US pure-play IP boutique widely regarded as a top US patent litigation and prosecution firm. Comparable as a peer firm operating at the top end of complex IP enforcement, especially for US-coordinating Canadian patent litigation.
• Finnegan: US-based IP specialty firm with deep patent prosecution and litigation capabilities. Comparable on high-stakes patent litigation and complex IP strategy, often coordinating parallel Canadian matters with Smart & Biggar or its competitors.

Direct peers

• Bereskin & Parr: Toronto-headquartered pure-play Canadian IP firm — the closest direct competitor to Smart & Biggar in Canadian patent and trademark prosecution and litigation. Materially comparable on specialty focus, client base, and headcount tier.
• McCarthy Tétrault: One of Canada's largest full-service law firms with a significant IP practice group. Overlaps with Smart & Biggar on patent litigation, trademark enforcement, and IP strategic advisory for enterprise clients.
• Norton Rose Fulbright (Canada): Global law firm with a substantial Canadian IP practice. Comparable on cross-border patent prosecution and IP litigation, and a competitor for the same large multinational clients Smart & Biggar serves.
• Gowling WLG (Canada): Canadian-founded international firm with one of the country's largest IP practices. Competes with Smart & Biggar across patent prosecution, trademark, and IP litigation while offering a much broader multi-practice platform.
• Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt: Premium Canadian full-service firm with a strong IP litigation and patent prosecution practice. Competes for the same high-end enterprise IP mandates and Supreme Court-level patent litigation work.

Others

• IPH Limited sister firm (e.g., Pizzeys): Sister firm within the IPH Limited network (parent company of Smart & Biggar). Operates under shared ownership and back-office but in different geographies, representing parent-level network economics rather than direct competition.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/smartbiggar

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smart & Biggar-Fetherstonhaugh