Vanessa moved to Kelowna from the lower mainland in 2005 and believes this was one of the best decisions she ever made! She completed her Bachelor of Arts from UBC with a double major in English and Classical Studies and her Bachelor of Education from UBCO as an elementary specialist. Vanessa has practiced in a variety of areas of law over her 20 years in the legal field, including corporate and securities law, but has focused her past 10 years on intellectual property law. In 2015 Vanessa became a registered trademark agent with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and was granted reciprocal recognition to file trademark applications on behalf of Canadian clients, by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Vanessa’s clients have ranged from individuals to government boards and she has assisted her clients with trademark registrations, trademark oppositions, intellectual property assignments, cease and desist matters and intellectual property licensing. She loves meeting new clients and learning about their business ideas and what they hope that their business will evolve into, in order to assist them with a creating a plan for protecting their intellectual property. Vanessa is passionate about educating the public about intellectual property and has been a member of the Outreach and Public Awareness subcommittees of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada for the past two years which has led her to present intellectual property seminars to law students, paralegals and entrepreneurs.
When not protecting the amazing brands produced by innovative entrepreneurs, Vanessa enjoys spending time with her family (husband Gary, daughter Nekayah and son Declan) and participating in triathlons. She is training to complete a ½ marathon in the near future.
Intellectual Property
Bachelor of Arts (double major English & Classical Studies) from UBC and Bachelor of Education from UBCO
