Intellectual Property Advisors

Intellectual property (IP) advisors act as a source of information about IP for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurs, intermediaries in the innovation system, post-secondary institutions, and government stakeholders.

Find us at events

IP advisors support innovation activities by delivering IP seminars and attending events held across the country. Search our calendar for upcoming events in your area!

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Contact an Intellectual Property Advisor (IPA)

You can book a one-one meeting by filling out our request form:
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You can also review the list of our IP advisors below.

Atlantic Region - for residents of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador

IP advisor: André Gallant

André Gallant, Juris Doctor (2002), diploma in health sciences, diploma in tourism, is Atlantic Canada's IP advisor. In addition to working in IP law, André has also worked as a tax lawyer for more than 10 years with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), with 2 large firms and with judges from 2 federal courts. Over the years, he's also acquired experience in event planning.

To top it off, André is a published author, a frequent speaker and an amateur piano composer. Some of his publications were cited by other authors, including by judges in 3 different published speeches.

He was also formally recognized in publications as having assisted other authors on their articles for publication, including a Tax Court of Canada judge, a CRA assistant commissioner, an Emeritus law professor and 2 senior private sector tax lawyers.

André was a guest on episode 30 of CIPO's Canadian IP Voices podcast.

Quebec Region – for residents of Quebec

IP advisor: Nicolas Déziel

Nicolas Déziel holds a bachelor's degree in education (B.Ed) and a certificate in public communication from Université Laval. He has been working at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) since 2015, starting as a Training Officer in the Patent Branch. In 2018, he became a Business Services Design and Development Officer, where he created digital products and resources for the CIPO website on a variety of IP related topics that directly supported the Government of Canada's National IP Strategy . Since then, he has gained extensive knowledge of the IP ecosystem in Canada, and has been active in learning design, outreach and training to Canadian innovators, creators and business owners, to support IP awareness and education on a broad scale.

Nicolas is now working as an Intellectual Property Advisor (IPA) for the Quebec Region. He works closely with Canadian innovators and small and medium-sized businesses to help them increase their IP knowledge base. This includes helping them consider how to strategically leverage their IP assets in support of their business objectives.

Headshot of Nicolas Déziel

Ontario Region – for residents of Ontario

IP advisor: Dumitru Olariu

Dumitru Olariu has a Master of Science in electrical engineering and a Master of Business Administration. He has worked with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) as a patent examiner, then as an IP advisor based first in Montreal, then in Vancouver and now in Toronto. Before joining CIPO, he worked for six years in the electronics industry.

Headshot of Dumitru Olariu

Northern and Eastern Ontario Region – for residents of Northern and Eastern Ontario

IP advisor: Elizabeth Collinson

Elizabeth Collinson has worked with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office for more than 20 years in a variety of roles, including trademark examiner and business development officer. She is now working as an IP advisor for the Northern and Eastern Ontario Region, and has a passion for helping entrepreneurs understand the importance and value of IP. Elizabeth is also an inactive trademark agent, listed on the College of Patent Agents & Trademark Agents' register.

Headshot of Elizabeth Collinson

Manitoba Region – for residents of Manitoba

IP advisor: Elizabeth Collinson

Elizabeth Collinson has worked with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office for more than 20 years in a variety of roles, including trademark examiner and business development officer. She is now working as an IP advisor for the Manitoba Region, and has a passion for helping entrepreneurs understand the importance and value of IP. Elizabeth is also an inactive trademark agent, listed on the College of Patent Agents & Trademark Agents' register.

Headshot of Elizabeth Collinson

Prairie and Northern Region – for residents of Saskatchewan, Alberta, Nunavut, Yukon, and Northwest Territories

IP advisor: Caroline Lefebvre

Caroline Lefebvre is the acting manager for the IP Advisory and Partnership team at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. Her team is responsible for building strategic partnerships across Canada, in order to increase IP awareness and use among various groups, such as entrepreneurs, inventors, professors and students.

She is a political science graduate from the University of Ottawa and has worked in various sectors of the federal government. Her experience led her to promote, among other issues, Canadian expertise in sustainable development in emerging countries, foreign investments in Canada and the importance of the quality of web content.

Throughout her career, she has developed strong expertise in project and event management, building strategic partnerships, marketing, and providing training.

British Columbia Region – for residents of British Columbia

IP advisor: Dumitru Olariu

Dumitru Olariu has a Master of Science in electrical engineering and a Master of Business Administration. He has worked with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) as a patent examiner, then as an IP advisor based first in Montreal, then in Vancouver and now in Toronto. Before joining CIPO, he worked for six years in the electronics industry.

Headshot of Dumitru Olariu

Book a free IP guest speaker

The IP Bank of Speakers is a collaborative effort of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) and the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC). CIPO and IPIC deliver three free IP presentations annually to public and private organizations across Canada.

Request a presentation