Expertise
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Practice Areas:
- Bar Admissions:
- Education:
- University of Western Ontario (2017) JD
- McMaster University (2014) BEng Mgt (Summa Cum Laude - Thermofluids and Energy Systems)
Details
- Bio
- Cases
- Associations
- Blog Posts
- News & Media
- Publications & Presentations
- Recognition
Jim Lepore
is an associate at Lenczner Slaght.
"Jim is best-in-class for Canadian IP litigation." — Chambers Canada
Jim's focus is advocacy— with a particular interest in intellectual property and commercial litigation. Jim has experience with complex disputes involving companies in the technology, telecommunications and oil and gas sectors. Drawing on his extensive background in engineering, business, and law, he provides creative solutions to legal issues inside and outside of the courtroom.
Prior to joining Lenczner Slaght, Jim summered, articled and practiced at a leading litigation boutique in Toronto.
Jim is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Law, where he was awarded the WeirFoulds LLP Writing Prize in Intellectual Property, the J.S.D. Tory Writing Prize for excellence in writing and legal research, the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada’s national writing prize and winning prizes in several advocacy competitions. Outside of the classroom, Jim volunteered as a case manager at Western's Business Law Clinic.
Before law school, Jim studied mechanical engineering and management at McMaster University and graduated summa cum laude. His capstone research project was in the field of aero-acoustics, designing a low noise landing gear for a Bombardier private jet.
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Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp et al v JAMP Pharma Corporation
Counsel to JAMP in a NOC action relating to JANUVIA (sitagliptin), a medication used to control high blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes.
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Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc et al v JAMP Pharma Corporation
Counsel to JAMP in a NOC action relating to LATUDA (lurasidone), an anti-psychotic medication used to treat bipolar depression and schizophrenia.
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Heidelberg Materials Canada Limited v Toronto Port Authority (PortsToronto)
Counsel to the Respondent, Toronto Port Authority (PortsToronto), in an urgent application for judicial review of a decision of the Minister of Transport. We obtained a dismissal on all issues, including the dismissal of a motion to strike PortsToronto’s responding evidence.
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Canadian News Media Companies v OpenAI
Counsel to Canada’s leading news media organizations in their legal action against OpenAI for breach of copyright, breach of online terms of use, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment for scraping large swaths of content (millions of works) from Canadian media to help develop its products, such as ChatGPT.
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Copyright counsel to a major news media company in matter relating to unauthorized use of its content to train AI tools.
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Maoz Betser-Zilevitch v Canadian Natural Resources Ltd
Counsel to the plaintiff in a patent infringement action involving oil & gas technologies, related to modular well pads used in heavy oil extraction.
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7912854 Canada Inc v Sunprotection Group Inc et al
Counsel to leading window coverings designer and manufacturer, Altex, in a trademark infringement, passing off, false advertising, trade libel and unfair competition action in the Federal Court of Canada.
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7912854 Canada Inc v Sunprotection Group Inc et al
Counsel to leading window coverings designer and manufacturer, Altex, in a commercial action in the Superior Court of Canada, related to intentional interference with contractual relations, and misappropriation of confidential and proprietary information.
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Co-counsel to Puma in an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada arising from Caterpillar’s opposition to Puma’s trademark application for PROCAT on the basis that it is confusing with Caterpillar’s registered design trademark (CAT & Triangle Design).
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James Caruk v Amazon.com Inc et al
Counsel to the Defendants, technology companies (Amazon, Apple, Fox/Tubi) and media production companies, in an action alleging, inter alia, copyright infringement, passing off and misappropriation of personality. This action was dismissed pre-discovery following service of the Defendants’ notice of motion to strike.
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Canadian Bar Association
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Ontario Bar Association - Member-at-Large of the Information Technology and Intellectual Property Executive
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Intellectual Property Institute of Canada - Internet & Technology Committee (2021-present)
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Toronto Intellectual Property Group
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Close Only Counts in Horseshoes: Federal Court of Appeal Reins in the PMPRB
The Federal Court of Appeal’s decision in Galderma Canada Inc v Canada (Attorney General) (“Galderma FCA”) arose from what seemed like a straightforward production order, but ended up providing clear guidance on the jurisdiction of Canada’s Patent Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB). The key takeaway: the PMPRB’s jurisdiction extends only to patented medicines, not all medicines.
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AI Artistry on Trial: Can Machines Hold Copyright?
The intersection of artificial intelligence and intellectual property law is once again in the spotlight with the latest legal proceeding, Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic v Ankit Sahni.
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Password Protected! The Federal Court Revisits TPMs
Savvy content creators and copyright owners often use technical protection measures (also known as “TPMs”) to restrict what users can do with their works (often digital materials). The prohibition against circumventing TPMs is rooted in sections 41 and 41.1 of the Copyright Act, but their fit within the broader Copyright Act is the subject of ongoing debate.
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As widely reported by the likes of CBC, the Guardian, the Verge and CNBC, OpenAI has indicated they will “pause” the use of their AI-generated voice after users (and Scarlett Johansson herself) noted the striking similarity to Scarlett Johansson's voice from the film “Her”. This connection may have been intentional, OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, posted a one-word message – “her” – on his social media on the day the AI-generated voice was unveiled.
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Innovation in Limbo: A Disappointing Turn in the Benjamin Moore Saga
In our last comment on non-patentable subject matter, we provided our thoughts on the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision in Canada (Attorney General) v Benjamin Moore & Co (the “Benjamin Moore Appeal”). As a top line, this decision was a loss for Canadian innovation. As we discussed in detail, the Federal Court of Appeal missed an opportunity to clarify the law of patentable subject matter, adopt the IPIC framework endorsed by Associate Chief Justice Gagné, and signal to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (“CIPO”) that its examination practices were out of step with the law. Instead, the Federal Court of Appeal further complicated an already complex area of the law, which will increase the costs of innovators to register their technologies in Canada.
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Bars or Bytes? Exploring the Implications of a Track that Drake Might (or Might Not) Have Created
Did Drake respond to an alleged feud with fellow artists, including Kendrick Lamar and Rick Ross? As reported by the LA Times, a track titled ‘Push Ups (Drop and Give Me 50)’ appeared online recently, taking aim at Lamar and several of his recent musical collaborators. However, this track remained unclaimed on any of Drake’s official platforms, causing some to question whether this track was fan-generated using artificial intelligence. This cynicism may be justified: Drake is reportedly no stranger to having to denounce fan-generated songs, and Lamar’s rumoured response was actually the work of artificial intelligence and another rapper.
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AI in the Courtroom: The Quest for Legal Precedents
The current landscape is inundated with narratives surrounding artificial intelligence and its intersection with the law. From the New York Time’s lawsuit launched against OpenAI in December 2023, to the BC lawyer reprimanded for citing fake AI-generated cases, to the lying Air Canada chatbot, the legal and mainstream media is full of stories of AI or people using AI running up against traditional legal doctrine and practice. Yet, amidst this surge of AI-related incidents, Canada finds itself grappling with more questions than answers.
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Benjamin Moore: An Opportunity Missed
It has been approximately six months since the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision in Canada (Attorney General) v Benjamin Moore & Co (the “Benjamin Moore Appeal”) was released, yet no practice direction has been issued from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (“CIPO”) to address the decision, and there is no consistency in the way that computer-implemented inventions are being examined. As the patent bar awaits a decision on the leave application to the Supreme Court of Canada, we provide our thoughts on the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision, and the missed opportunity it was.
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Don’t Make Me Say It a Fourth Time: Federal Court Weighs in (Again) on Patentable Subject Matter
Associate Chief Justice Gagné’s decision in Benjamin Moore & Co v Attorney General of Canada, 2022 FC 923 (“Benjamin Moore”) marks the second time that the Federal Court has had to weigh in to tell the Commissioner that it was not applying the correct test for patentability of computer-implemented inventions. Unlike past decisions (discussed below), the Court in Benjamin Moore, provided instruction on how the Commissioner ought to assess patentability of such inventions. As a top line, these instructions appear to level the playing field – reducing the artificially high standard that computer-implemented inventions face during patent examination.
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Summary adjudication can be enticing. In the right circumstances, it saves the parties time and money. Unsurprisingly, there is a growing trend in Canadian intellectual property litigation to use summary adjudication that we have been actively monitoring (see, e.g., our comments here, here, here, here, here and here).
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Chambers Canada Recognizes Lenczner Slaght’s Deep Bench of Expert Litigators
Canada’s leading litigation firm continues to advance their position in the latest edition of the world-renowned directory.
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Lenczner Slaght Litigators Recognized as the Best Lawyers in Canada
In the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers in Canada, Lenczner Slaght is proud to receive 168 total rankings, with 45 of our expert litigators recognized for their expertise across 25 practice areas.
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Lenczner Slaght Welcomes Jim Lepore
Canada’s leading litigation firm adds another exceptional litigator to its expert Intellectual Property Group.
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2023 Snapshot: Through the Lens of Lenczner Slaght
Lenczner Slaght launches our 2023 Snapshot, a look at the most significant developments, decisions, business takeaways, and trends in litigation from the last year, across 15 practice areas. Revisit 2023 and look ahead to 2024 through the lens of our expert litigators.
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Lenczner Slaght Advocacy Competition in Legal Ethics and Professionalism 2023
We were proud to continue our sponsorship of Western Law’s Annual Legal Ethics and Professionalism Moot! Matthew B. Lerner, Sean Lewis, Sean Blakeley, Jim Lepore, and Allison Jandura participated as judges.
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Non-Infringing Alternatives: Moving Beyond Condemnation to Arrive at Compensation
Jim Lepore's article Non-Infringing Alternatives: Moving Beyond Condemnation to Arrive at Compensation appeared in Volume 33 of Canadian Intellectual Property Review.
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Selecting and Protecting Inherently Strong Names
Jim Lepore co-authored the article Selecting and Protecting Inherently Strong Name for the Hamilton Law Journal.
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The Effect of Proximity of the Landing Gear Lights on its Turbulent Wake
Jim Lepore co-authored the article The Effect of Proximity of the Landing Gear Lights on its Turbulent Wake that appeared in Volume 10 of the Journal of Turbulence.
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Experimental Investigation of Landing Light Orientation on Landing Gear Noise
Jim Lepore co-authored the article Experimental Investigation of Landing Light Orientation on Landing Gear Noise for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Pressure Vessel and Piping Conference.
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Stereoscopic PIV Study of a Simplified Landing Gear Model
Jim Lepore co-authored the article Stereoscopic PIV Study of a Simplified Landing Gear Model for the 10th Pacific Symposium on Flow Visualization and Image Processing Conference.
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Limitations of Only Using a NUANS Search
Jim Lepore co-authored the article Limitations of Only Using a NUANS Search for the Hamilton Law Journal.
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Best Lawyers in Canada (2025)
Ones to Watch – Intellectual Property
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Canada's IP Writing Challenge (2016)
Intellectual Property Institute of Canada; IP Osgoode
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Chambers Canada (2025)
Intellectual Property: Litigation (Nationwide – Canada)
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First Year Appellate Competition (FYAC) (2015)
Winner
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Harold G. Fox Intellectual Property Moot (2016)
Honourable Mention - Best Oral Advocate
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Highest Standing in Process and Substance in IP Litigation (2016)
University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Law
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J.S.D. Tory Writing Prize (2017)
University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Law
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Legate & Associates Medical Malpractice Trial Advocacy Moot (2017)
Winner
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University of Western Ontario Law Alumni Association Scholarship (2014)
University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Law
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WeirFoulds LLP Writing Prize in Intellectual Property (2016)
University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Law