John A. Myers Partner, Trade-mark Agent
John is a Partner and Trade-Mark agent with Taylor McCaffrey. He practises primarily in the areas of intellectual property protection and enforcement including copyrights, trademarks, domain names, trade secrets, confidential information, and patent litigation. John is renowned for his expertise and ability to assist his clients navigate through various types of complex dispute resolution.
Throughout his remarkable career, he has represented clients before the Manitoba, Ontario and British Columbia Courts, the Federal Court, the Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada. He has appeared before the World Intellectual Property Organization, the National Arbitration Forum, the International Chamber of Commerce, and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution. Other international activities include the coordination of litigation before the courts in the Republic of Singapore, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and numerous jurisdictions in the United States.
John has a passion for advocacy and is very committed to ensure he is always looking out for his clients’ best interests. His expertise, commitment and skills have won John numerous awards including Best Lawyers in Canada in the field of Intellectual Property Law since 2012, and the Richard J. Scott Award for his commitment to public interest advocacy in 2017. Further details of Johns’ many awards, litigation cases and achievements can be found in subsequent sections of his profile.
Outside of running an extremely demanding law practice, John spends a significant amount of time giving back to his community. He has held positions on the Board of Directors for the Manitoba Institute of Child Health Inc, Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba Board of Directors (as well as President for 2 years) and Operations Chair of the Teddy Bears’ Picnic for 31 years. These are just a few of the many volunteer leadership roles that John has held over the past 30+ years. On top of all this, John also continues to teach at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law and is a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars within Canada and the United States.
- Canadian Bar Association
- Manitoba Bar Association
- Fellow of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada
- Manitoba Advocates Society
- Association des Juriste D’Expression Française du Manitoba
- Bioscience Association Manitoba
- Canadian International Pharmacy Association
• Canadian Bar Association’s Federal Court Bench and Bar Liaison Committee – (October 2023-present)
• Adult Abuse Registry Committee, Panel Member, Appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council (January 2016-December 2019, and re-appointed January 2023-present)
• Harold G. Fox Moot, Co-Coach for the University of Manitoba Team (2014-present)
• Canadian International Pharmacy Association, Secretary and General Counsel (2002-present)
• Taylor McCaffrey LLP Intellectual Property Group, Chair, (1997-present)
• Performing Arts Lodge (PAL Winnipeg Inc). (2015-Present) currently action as Chair
• Manitoba Bar Association, Technology and Intellectual Property Section, Co-Chair (2014-2017)
• Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, Chair of Litigation Committee (2014-2016)
• Manitoba Institute of Child Health Inc., Board of Directors, Member (2002-2014)
• Federal Court Intellectual Property Users Committee CBA Representative (2010-2013); and Serving as Chair of the Bar Members (2012-2013)
• Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba, Board of Directors, Member (1987-2007), President (2000-2002)
• Teddy Bears’ Picnic, Founding Chair (1986-1993), Operations Chair for 31 years
• Border Crossings Magazine, Board Member (2018-Present)
• Friends of Peanut Park Inc., Director and Secretary (2007-Present)
• John Myers was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers™ in Canada 2025 in the field of Intellectual Property Law (since 2012)
• Recipient of Richard J. Scott Award (November 2017) for his long-time commitment to public interest advocacy on behalf of persons living with disabilities, and his outstanding work as a civil litigator, practitioner and teacher in the area of intellectual property
• Co-Recipient of the Manitoba Bar Association’s Access to Justice Award for representing three families seeking Carter Exemption Orders so that they could receive Medical Assistance in Dying
• Co-Recipient of the Manitoba Bar Association’s Pro Bono Public Interest Project Certificate of Recognition for 2015 (“St. Amant Residents” Project)
• Co-Recipient of the Manitoba Bar Association’s Pro Bono Public Interest Project Certificate of Recognition for 2008 (“Bannerman” Project)
• Recipient of the Teddy Award from the Children’s Hospital Foundation in September 2006
• Recipient of the Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for making a “significant contribution to the community, his fellow citizens and to Canada” as an advocate for child health and pediatric research
• Recipient of the Manitoba Bar Association’s Pro Bono Public Interest Project Certificate of Recognition for 1999 (“Thomas” Project)
• Recipient of the Manitoba Bar Association’s Community Involvement Award for 1996-1997
• Accepted the Mayor’s Volunteer Service Award on behalf of more than 1,500 Teddy Bears’ Picnic Volunteers in 1996
William McAllum Memorial Scholarship for the Study of Law (1987-1989)
• Three cases in Manitoba requesting Carter Exemption Orders allowing a person to receive medical assistance in dying in the following:
– Patient v Attorney General of Canada et al, 2016 MBQB 63
– Patient #2 v Attorney General of Canada et al, 2016
– Patient #3 v Attorney General of Canada et al, 2016
• Represented the Applicant before the Federal Court and obtained an Order quashing two Decisions of the Minister of Health denying the Applicant a Natural Products License, an Order of Mandamus compelling the Minister of Health to issue the License and an Order of Solicitor/Client Costs; on Appeal the Order quashing the Minister’s Decisions and Solicitor/Client Costs was upheld:
– Winning Combination Inc. v. Canada (Health), 2016 FC 381 (Order quashing decisions and full indemnity costs sustained on appeal)
• Obtained an award of damages and costs totaling $6.5 million as well as a six-year injunction in a case involving the misappropriation of trade secrets relating to a pharmaceutical product:
– Apotex Fermentation Inc. v. Novopharm Ltd., (1998) CanLII 4886 (MBCA).
• Obtained an order extending the duration of an injunction imposed against Novopharm for an additional 18 months, bringing the total to 7.5 years:
– Apotex Fermentation Inc. v. Novopharm Ltd., 2000 CanLII 20744 (MBQB).
• A challenge to the Government of Canada’s interpretation of the Canada Assistance Plan relating to overpayment deductions from recipients of social assistance:
– Finlay v. Canada (Minister of Finance), (1993) 101 D.L.R. (4th) 567 (SCC).
• Represented a disability rights organization in a case involving a challenge to the Criminal Code provisions related to assisting suicide:
– Rodriguez v. British Columbia (Attorney General), (1993) 107 D.L.R. (4th) 342 (SCC).
• A successful appeal which set aside an Anton Piller order and established guidelines for granting such orders:
– Pulse Microsystems Ltd. v. SafeSoft Systems Inc., 1996 CanLII 7295 (MBCA).
• Obtained an order preventing a cable company from unilaterally terminating a 25-year-old service contract entered into with a non-profit housing cooperative:
– Shaw Cablesystems (Manitoba) Ltd. v. Canadian Legion Memorial Housing Foundation (Manitoba), (1997), 143 D.L.R. (4th) 193 (MBCA)
• Acted for eight intervenors in a case which examined a court’s jurisdiction to order a pregnant woman into a treatment program for substance abuse:
– Winnipeg Child and Family Services (Northwest Area) v. D.F.G., [1998] 1 W.W.R. 1 (SCC)
• Successfully defended Apotex Fermentation Inc. in a judicial review proceeding that attempted to quash a Notice of Compliance for the drug Apo-Lovastatin:
– Merck & Co. v. Canada (Minister of Health), 1999 CanLII 8752 (FCA).
• Represented the Intervenor Adoption Council of Canada in relation to provisions of the Citizenship Act that discriminate against adoptive families. Ms. McKenna’s two adopted children were ultimately granted Canadian citizenship:
– Canada (Attorney General) v. McKenna, (1998) 167 D.L.R. (4th) 488 (FCA).
• Obtained an injunction preventing the Manitoba Agricultural Credit Corporation from selling farm property and ultimately obtained an order returning the farm property to the debtor:
– M & D Farms Ltd. v. Manitoba Agricultural Credit Corporation, 1998 CanLII 779 (SCC).
• Successful defence of Singapore distributor for Apotex Inc. where the trial and appeal courts concluded that there was no infringement of certain process claims and the court declared the product claims of Merck’s patent to be invalid relating to the compound Lovastatin:
– Merck & Co. v. Pharmaforte PTE Ltd. [2002] 2 SLR, 515 (H.C.); affirmed [2000] 3 SLR 717 (C.A.).
• Acted as supervising solicitor for the execution of an Anton Piller order in the direct-to-home satellite television industry:
– News Datacom Ltd. et al v. Northern Satellite Technologies Ltd. et al. Unreported Order of Darichuk J. granted October 24, 2000 (MBQB).
• A successful appeal which set aside a Mareva injunction and attaching order and established guidelines for granting such orders:
– Paul Clark et al v. Nucare PLC, 2006 MBCA 101.
• Successful appeal relating to the manner in which the drug Apo-Omeprazole is to be listed on the Manitoba Interchangeability Formulary:
– AstraZeneca Canada Inc. et al v. Manitoba et al, 2006 MBCA 21. (Leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada refused.)
• Was part of a team of lawyers which secured an interim injunction preventing the City of Winnipeg from evicting tenants with disabilities from two housing projects in the city’s north end while issues related to the validity of certain zoning bylaws were being challenged:
– Hadden et al v. City of Winnipeg – Court of Queen’s Bench.
• University of Manitoba Faculty of Law; Law Society of Manitoba Bar Admissions Course
• University of Manitoba; School of Business – Introduction to IP Law for MBA Students
