Stéphane Gilker

Stéphane Gilker specialises in high technology and intellectual property. His practice, initially focused on copyright and other intellectual property rights relating to entertainment (audio-visual, advertising, music, literary publishing, performing arts, etc.) has, over the past few years, extended to include the information technology sector (software, multimedia, the Internet and e-commerce).

From 1992 to 1997, apart from its regular practice, Stephane Gilker has devoted a substantial part of his time acting as expert-counsel for the Canadian federal government on matters related to the negotiation and national implementation of the intellectual property and telecommunication provisions of the Canada/USA Free Trade Agreement, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Final Act Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations. He has also been part of the team of four experts retained by the Canadian Federal government for the overall revision of the Canadian Copyright Act completed in 1997 that was intended to ensure compliance with the above multilateral and international agreements and treaties as well as with the Rome Convention.

In 1997, he accepted the challenge to create and manage, with Bell Canada's legal department, a team of lawyers and professionals specialised in intellectual property, new media and information technology. As Assistant General Counsel of Bell Canada's Law Department and Head of their Information Technology and New Media Law Group, he was called on to assist the senior management of Bell Canada, BCE Inc. and subsidiaries, such as Bell Emergis and Sympatico-Lycos, in developing and implementing corporate intellectual property policies and was further responsible for the provision and supervision of all legal services relating to the research, development, acquisition, operation and protection of software, multimedia products and Web sites, mainly through contract agreements with leading-edge IT and telecommunication companies worldwide.

At the end of 1999, Mr. Gilker returned to Fasken Martineau, offering clients solid practical experience which allows him to respond to the needs of companies of all sizes involved in the development, acquisition or operation of traditional content, software and multimedia applications as well as in Internet or e-commerce related services.

Selected Experience

• Desjardins Venture Capital invests in Ricardo Media
• Québec Superior Court ruling a precedent-setting victory for copyright protection, orders shutdown of P2P website

News

• Isabelle Dongier and Stéphane Gilker are mentioned on Droit-Inc for being named Lawyer of the Year respectively in Immigration and Entertainment Law by Best Lawyers
• "Lawyer of the Year": Best Lawyers in Canada recognizes 4 Fasken Martineau lawyers

Publications

• Bill C-32: New Proposal to Reform Canadian Copyright Act - A Detailed Review
• Le droit de propriété dans les mondes virtuels en droit civil québécois

Presentations

• La vente de produits d'assurance en ligne
• Droit de l'Internet

Membership/Affiliations

• Member, Québec Bar
• Member, Bar of Montréal
• Member, Canadian Bar Association
• Member, International Literary and Artistic Association (ALAI)
• Member, Patent and Trademark Institute of Canada (PTIC)
• Member, Canadian IT Law Association (IT.Can)
• Member, Computer Law Association (CLA)
• Member, Copyright Technical Committee, Intellectual Property Institute of Canada
• Member, Alliance NumeriQC-Québec Digital Industry Network
• Member, Association québecoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo (ADISQ)
• Former Member, Canadian Intellectual Property Reports, Editorial Board
• Former member, Les Cahiers de propriété intellectuelle, Éditions Yvon Blais, Editorial Board
• Lecturer, International Literary and Artistic Association, Conferences
• Canadian observer, European Economic Community Intellectual Property Directorate on harmonizing neighboring rights at the intivation of French Minister of Culture (Nov-90)
• Canadian delegate, UNESCO panel ef experts on copyright, neighbouring rights and the Information Highway (Sep-96)
• Lecturer, University of Montréal, Conferences: Copyright and Cyberspace; Recent Developments in Canadian Law; Law and the New Economy of Knowledge
• Lecturer, Conference: Copyright and the WIPO Tresties: Protecting Content on the Internet, Intellectual Property Symposium of the Americas: Protecting Intellectual Property in the Digital Age, Washington (Nov-00)
• Lecturer, Development and On-line Transmission of Multimedia Products; Legal Aspects, Multimedia International Market (MIM) 2000 (Nov-00)
• Lecturer, Canadian Institute, Conference: Internet Law, Recent Developments Regarding Protection of Copyrights in Canada, the United States and European Community (Dec-00)
• Conference: The Challenge for the Americas: Transitioning to the Global Economy; International Intellectual Property Agreements & Responsibilities, CLAA, Miami (Dec-00)
• Conference: Computer, Internet and eCommerce Law in Canada: 2000-2001 Update, The IT Business in the Americas: An Update Toward Year 2002, Computer Law Association, Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 2001
• Conference: Noteworthy Issues In Major Software Licensing Projects, Conducting Digital Business Across the Atlantic; Emerging contract approaches, data security strategies, new regulatory issues, and intellectual property considerations, Computer Law Association, Paris, November, 2002
• Conference: IT meets Telecom: Intellectual Property Issues in Software and Multimedia Development Agreements, Computer Law Association , Munich, November 2003
• Association Littéraire et Artistique Internationale, "Rethinking Copyright: A Roadmap to the Future of Copyright; Should Economic Rights be Reformed?" (Ottawa, Spring 2004)
• Quebec Recoding Industry Association, "Copyright and collective societies in the music sector in Canada: An overview", (since 2002)
• Québec Bar Association, "Recent Developments in Entertainment Law: Commissioning musical works and sound recordings for films and televisions productions in Canada" (Montreal, Spring 2004)
• HEC Business School, University of Montreal, "Copyright in the film and Television Industry" (Montreal, since 2004)
• Montreal Chamber of Commerce, "Exporting cultural products in the Las Vegas Market: legal aspects" (Montreal, Winter 2005)
• Canadian delegate for Canadian Heritage Department to the World Intellectual Property Organisation; "Liability of Internet Intermediaries under the 1996 WIPO Internet Treaties", (Geneva, March 2005)
• Journées France-Québec, "Legal and business aspects of production and exploitation of sound recordings in Canada" (Montreal, Spring 2006)
• National Institute of Image and Sound , "Copyright and collective societies in the film and television sectors in Canada: An overview" (Montreal, Fall 2006)

Honours and Awards

• Recognized as one of Canada's best Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law lawyers in The Best Lawyers in Canada (2006-2012 edition)
• Continually recognized by Lexpert in Intellectual Property, Computer & IT Law and Entertainment Law (rated "Repeatedly Recommended")
• Recognized by Martindale Hubbell (received the highest rating (AV))