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Ilya Kalnish

Partner, Patent Agent, Trademark Agent

Ilya Kalnish

Montreal

25th Floor
1100 René-Lévesque Blvd. West
Montreal, Quebec H3B 5C9
CANADA
514 397-8500 514 397-8515

Ilya Kalnish supports both large international corporations and smaller start ups / scale ups in developing complex intellectual property strategies. A patent agent in Canada, and a trademark agent in Canada and in the United States, he specializes in artificial intelligence, information technology (IT), and mechanics. Ilya is also involved as a member of BCF's Board of Directors.

Ilya is particularly effective in obtaining watertight legal protection for inventions in several countries around the world, while optimizing the cost-benefits ratio associated with such procedures. He has developed a particular expertise in computer implemented inventions and, particularly,  Artificial Intelligence (AI) type inventions (such as search algorithm, recommendation engines, self-driving cars, natural language processing, AI assisted dental planning, to name a few). Before joining BCF, he held key intellectual property management posts in large corporations in Toronto, such as Bell Canada and Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd, the world’s largest supplier of industrial solutions in the injection molding industry. During his time at Husky, Ilya was instrumental in developing internal IP management strategies that resulted in the Husky Legal/IP team winning the 2010 Inside Counsel Award for their “holistic patent strategy” approach.

In 2017, 2018 and 2019, Ilya receives the Client Choice Awards, a prestigious international award that annually honors the best professionals in the legal sector, selected by the clients. A native of Russia, Ilya speaks English, Russian and Bulgarian fluently. He also chairs the Committee for the Patent Agents Training Course for the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada. Ilya is a frequent speaker at various conferences and courses, including IPIC/McGill “Introduction to Patents” course, IPIC patent agent training course, Federated Press patent strategy conference. 

  • Registered Trademark Agent (Canada) (2010)
  • Registered Trademark Agent (USA) (2010)
  • Registered Patent Agent (Canada) (2006)
  • B.A. (1st Class Honors), Business Administration and Management, Oxford Brookes University (UK), (1996)
  • IAM Patent 1000 (2020-2023) - Recommended Individual
  • IAM Strategy 300 (2021-2022) - The World’s Leading IP Strategists
  • Globe Business Media Group (2017-2019) - Client Choice Awards
  • Inside Counsel Award (2012) - 2012 IC10 Award 
  • Patent procurement work for an international software company (Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning Algorithm, Deep Learning, Computer Vision, etc.);
  • Patent procurement work for a leading international capital equipment manufacturer;
  • Patent risk management (global) for a leading international capital equipment manufacturer;
  • Patent drafting work for an international digital translation company;
  • Patent drafting and portfolio management for a start up in the area of Artificial Intelligence and dentistry;
  • Patent drafting and portfolio management for a start up in the remote monitoring and asset management area;
  • Patent drafting and portfolio management for a regional Internet-based TV company;
  • Patent drafting and portfolio management for an international financial institution.
  • Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC), Fellow member
  • IPIC Patent Agent Training Course Committee, Chair
  • IPIC Forums and Seminars Subcommittee, Member
  • IPIC Joint Liaison Committee, Member
  • IPIC Education / Professional Development Committee, Past member
  • IPIC Young Practitioners Committee, Past member
  • IPIC In-house Practitioners Committee, Past member
  • McGill / IPIC Summer Courses in Patents, Lecturer, Tutor – 2015 - present;
  • McGill / IPIC Summer Courses in Patents, Program Director – 2014;
  • McGill / IPIC Summer Courses in Patents, Assistant Program Director – 2012, 2013;
  • McGill / IPIC Summer Courses in Patents, Assistant Program Director – 2009-2014;
  • IPIC Patent Agent Exam Preparation Course (Drafting / Prosecution), Lecturer/Tutor – 2011, 2013;
  • Federated Press, Lecturer – 2010, 2011, 2012.