Patent & Trademark Agents in Canada

His areas of expertize include corporate and intellectual property strategy, IP transaction due diligence, in-house IP portfolio management, and Canadian and international patent prosecution. He is registered to practice before the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and is a member of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada.

Prior to his legal career, Robert worked in Research & Development and held senior management positions for a manufacturer of water treatment equipment, where he was listed as principal inventor on several US and international patents. He worked for a patent law firm for a number of years before founding Brunet & Co.

During the pandemic, he demonstrated his entrepreneurial spirit by founding BeaconUV, a company that manufactures patented N95 mask sterilization technology using UV light. Additionally, he served as President of a patented wind turbine manufacturer before orchestrating the successful sale of the company.

Robert is a sought-after speaker at international IP conferences and is recognized as a leading Canadian patent practitioner.

June 1999 – Master of Engineering Science

• Chemical Engineering
• University of Western Ontario (UWO)
• Thesis: Silent Discharge Water Treatment: Mass Transfer and Reaction Rates

June 1995 – Bachelor of Engineering Science

• Bio-Chemical Engineering
• University of Western Ontario

• Licenzed Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario
• Registered Patent Agent in both Canada and the United States

February 2020-January 2023

• Professional Engineers Ontario Council
• Appointed by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario to serve on the Board. PEO is the licensing regulator of the engineering profession in Canada’s most populous province.
• Various duties including government relations, governance and finance.

March 2014-present

• Lambton-Kent-Middlesex Progressive Conservative Riding Association
• President of the Riding Association executive board.
• Organize fundraising events and activities.
• Election support.

• UWO Gold Medal award for Engineering.
• UWO National Scholarship.
• Canada Scholarship.
• Graduated Dean’s honour list, with distinction, all years.

1. Brunet, R; DeWaal, W; Kittrell, J.R.  “Organics Destruction with Photocatalysis.”  IAWQ Yearbook, 1998, pp. 9-10.
2. Brunet, R; Pearcey, R; Kittrell, J.R; Wise, C.  “AIR2000™: Destruction of Chlorinated VOC’s Using UV Photocatalysis.”  Americana ’99, Montreal, PQ, February, 1999.
3. Brunet, R; Kitrell, J.R; Wise, C.  “Commercial Scale Remediation Case Study Using UV-Photocatalysis.” 4th International Conference on TiO2 Photocatalytic Purification and Treatment of Water and Air, Albuquerque, NM, May, 1999.
4. Brunet, R; Pearcey, R; Kittrell, J.R; Wise, C.  “Site Remediation Using Photocatalytic VOC Destruction of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons.”  92nd Annual AWMA Annual Meeting, St. Louis, MO, June, 1999.
5. Brunet, R; Pearcey, R. “Commercial Scale Treatment of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons Using UV-Photocatalysis.” 15th Annual Conference on Contaminated Soils, Amherst, MA, October, 1999.
6. Brunet, R; Sakamoto, G; Wright, H; Cairns, W.  “UV Disinfection of Wastewater: Key Factors for Effective System Design.”  28th Canadian Society of Civil Engineering conference, 6th Environmental Specialty Conference, London, ON, June, 2000.
7. Brunet, R; Mohseni, M; Royce, A.  “Laboratory and Full Scale Investigation on By-products Formation During the Photocatalytic Destruction of Chlorinated VOC’s.”  5th International Conference on TiO2 Photocataytic Purification and Treatment of Water and Air, London, ON, June 2000.
8. Hay, S; Obee, T; Brunet, R; Hosein, F; Medina, R; Santoro, T.  “A Comparison of Packed Bed and Honeycomb Monolith UV Photocatalytic Reactor Designs at a UTC SVE Site.” 5th International Conference on TiO2 Photocataytic Purification and Treatment of Water and Air, London, ON, June 2000.

1. US 6,217,834. “Ultraviolet Radiation Lamp and Source Module and Treatment System Containing Same.”
2. US Patent 6,803,586. “Fluid Treatment System and Method of Treating Fluid.”
3. US Patent 7,166,850. “Fluid Mixing Device.”
4. US Patent Application 11/552,049. “Method of Facilitating Online Group Play of a Lottery Game.”
5. International Patent Application PCT/CA2010/000103. “Wind Powered System for Reducing Energy Consumption of a Primary Power Source.”
6. International Patent Application PCT/CA2013/000495. “Patient Support with Data Communication.”

Since then he has worked as a commercialization officer at Environment Canada, as a patent agent in the private sector and as an in-house patent agent for the National Research Council of Canada until joining the firm in 2013.

He has extensive experience prosecuting patents in diverse fields of technology including the chemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and mechanical arts.

Hans is a Registered Canadian and U.S. Patent Agent and is a member of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada.

• Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC) — Member, Patent Committee and Industrial Design Committee
• Toronto Intellectual Property Group (TIPG) — Member

• 2022 – Speaker for the Engineering Business Futures Program – Lawyers Panel 2022, University of Toronto
• 2022 – Speaker for the Engineering Science Education Conference (ESEC) 2022, University of Toronto
• 2021, 2020 – Speaker for the Patent Agent Exam Prep – Paper A Webinar, Intellectual Property Institute of Canada
• 2021, 2020 – Faculty for the Patent Agent Training Course – Drafting & Prosecution, Intellectual Property Institute of Canada
• 2021, 2018, 2017 – Panelist for the Girls’ Leadership in Engineering Experience (GLEE) Alumnae Panel, University of Toronto
• 2020 – Judge for the Select Equity Den, University of Toronto
• 2020 – Panelist for the Women in Engineering Panel, University of Toronto
• 2019, 2018 – Guest Lecturer on Intellectual Property for the Engineering Science Option Seminar, University of Toronto
• 2018 – Speaker at the Biomedical Engineering Students Association Professional Development Seminar: Intellectual Property, University of Toronto

• Overbreadth Confirmed as a Valid Ground of Patent Invalidity
• Federal Court of Appeal Provides Clarity on the Anticipation and Obviousness Analyses in the Context of Selection Patents
• Federal Court of Appeal Provides Clarity on File Wrapper Estoppel
• CIPO’s New Guidance on Assessing Patentable Subject-Matter
• Pandemic Highlights Urgency of Privacy Law Reform in Canadian Privacy Commissioner’s Annual Report
• Federal Court of Canada Rejects CIPO’s “Problem-Solution Approach” to Claim Construction
• Federal Court of Canada Further Considers Certificate of Supplementary Protection Regime
• Canadian Intellectual Property Office Launches Pilot Program for Accelerated Examination of COVID-19-Related Patent Applications