Dr. John Norman is a partner and litigator in the Ottawa office of Gowling WLG, serving as head of the firm's Life Sciences Group and practising in its Intellectual Property Group. He helps Canadian and international clients protect and manage their patent and intellectual property portfolios and develop effective litigation strategies.
John works primarily with leading national and international pharmaceutical, biotechnology, biologic and technology companies, such as Novartis, Allergan, Actelion, Hoffmann-La Roche, Kyorin Pharmaceuticals and CCM. He advises on pharmaceutical regulation and patent litigation, including patent infringement actions, patent impeachment actions and proceedings under the Patented Medicine (Notice of Compliance) Regulations and Patented Medicine Prices Review Board.
He also appears on behalf of clients before the Federal Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.
John is highly regarded for his expertise in the areas of intellectual property, biotechnology and patents, and has achieved recognition in a number of prestigious legal directories, including The Best Lawyers in Canada, the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and Managing Intellectual Property (MIP).
An active member of the Canadian and international legal community, John is a member of the Board of Directors of BIOTECanada, and a participant on its committee dealing with follow-on biologics and biosimilars. He also sits on the editorial board of the Canadian Intellectual Property Review.
John is a frequent speaker and writer on pharmaceutical and technology patent litigation matters, and is a media spokesperson and recognized leading industry expert on patent issues. Prior to joining Gowling WLG, he obtained a PhD in biochemistry from the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University, and an M.Sc. from Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Year Joined Firm: 2003
Education/Alumni: Dalhousie University, LLB; Dalhousie University, PhD; Memorial University of Newfoundland, MSc; Memorial University of Newfoundland, BSc
Network Memberships: American Bar Association, American Intellectual Property Law Association, Board of Directors with BIOTECanada, Canadian IP Bar Association, County of Carleton Law Association, Editorial Board for the Canadian Intellectual Property Review, Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, Orphan Products Working Group with BIOTECanada, Subsequent Entry Biologics Task Force with BIOTECanada, The Advocates' Society
