Lawyer Profile
Monique M. Couture
Ottawa, Ontario
Overview
### Bio
Monique Couture is one of Canada's leading trademark lawyers. A Gowling WLG partner in Ottawa, she manages a vibrant intellectual property counselling and litigation practice, with an emphasis on trademark enforcement, anti-counterfeiting and prosecution.
Monique protects her clients' brands across a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, music, entertainment, alcoholic beverages, pharmaceutical, hospitality, fashion and retail services.
Monique is highly regarded for the depth of her knowledge, and the versatility of her practice. Monique is involved in all aspects of brand protection for private companies and major multinational brand owners, and acts on both contentious and non-contentious matters. She manages the Canadian trademark portfolios of many of the world's most recognized brands.
Monique is regularly featured in the industry's leading publications, including *Who's Who Legal: Trademarks*, *Guide to the World's Leading Trademark Practitioners*, *Expert Guides: Women in Business Law*, *Who's Who Legal: Canada*, *The Best Lawyers in Canada* and *The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers* as one of Canada's leading practitioners in this field of law.
In protecting her clients' brands, Monique appears before the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal, as well as before the Trademarks Opposition Board and the Registrar of Trademarks.
Monique spent four years in Moscow, Russia, where she established the firm's anti-counterfeiting and litigation practice, and helped to deliver an acclaimed World Bank project in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Monique is fluent in French, English and Russian.
### Career & education
#### Education
1993
Norwich University, MA
1993
University of Ottawa, LLB, magna cum laude
1990
University of Ottawa, BA
#### Languages
English
French
Russian
##### Memberships
- Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network
- Canadian Bar Association
- County of Carleton Law Association
- International Trademark Association
- l'Association des Juristes d'Expression Française
- Law Society of Ontario
### Publications & speaking engagements
##### Presentations
- Panelist, "[Counterfeiting in the Metaverse: Protecting, Policing, and Enforcing Digital Rights as Technology Races Forward](https://newtonmedia.foleon.com/inta-daily-news/day-5-2022/can-the-legalverse-tame-the-metaverse "")." INTA 2022 Annual Meeting Live+, May 2022.
- Monique lectures on trade-mark law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ottawa. She has spoken on intellectual property matters at various conferences in both Russia and Canada.
##### Paper
- "Uncertainty and assurance: Canada's road to ratifying the intellectual property provisions of the *Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement*" (co-authored with John Norman and Laura Morrison) *Canadian International Lawyer*, vol. 10 no. 2, 2015
- "Sound marks roar to life - National procedures" (co-authored with Rob MacDonald) *World Trademark Review Daily*, April 2012.
- Canadian chapter of Thomson's *Trade-marks Throughout the World, various years.*
Practice Areas
Bar Information
Called to the bar: 1995 (ON)
Professional Details
Awards & Recognition
World Trademark Review (WTR) 1000 (2012) (2012)
World Trademark Review (WTR) 1000 (2013) (2013)
Expert Guides: Women in Business Law 2014 (2014)
Who's Who Legal: Canada 2014 (2014)
Best Lawyers in Canada 2026 (2025)
Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2025 (2025)
Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2026 (2026)
Lexpert Special Edition: Health Sciences 2025 (2025)
Lexpert Special Edition: Technology 2025 (2025)
World Trademark Review 1000 2026 (2026)
World Trademark Review (WTR) 1000 2014 (2014)
Expert Guides: Women in Business Law 2015 (2015)
The Best Lawyers in Canada 2016 (2015)
World Trademark Review 1000: The World's Leading Trademark Professionals, 2015 (2015)
Acritas Star 2018 (2018)
Acritas Stars 2017 (2017)
Acritas Stars 2019 (2019)
Acritas Stars 2020 (2020)
Best Lawyers in Canada 2021 (2020)
Best Lawyers in Canada 2022 (2021)
Best Lawyers in Canada 2023 (2022)
Best Lawyers in Canada 2024 (2023)
Best Lawyers in Canada 2025 (2024)
Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2016 (2016)
Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2017 (2017)
Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2018 (2018)
Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2019 (2019)
Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars 2025 (2025)
Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2020 (2020)
Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2021 (2021)
Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2022 (2022)
Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2023 (2023)
Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2024 (2024)
Expert Guides: Trademarks 2016 (2016)
Expert Guides: Women in Business Law 2016 (2016)
Expert Guides: Women in Business Law 2017 (2017)
Expert Guides: Women in Business Law 2018 (2018)
Expert Guides: Women in Business Law 2019 (2019)
Guide to the World's Leading Trade Mark Law Practitioners, Euromoney/MIP (2000, 2004)
Legal 500 Canada 2018 (2017)
Lexpert's Leading 500 Cross-Border Lawyers: A Guide to Doing Business in Canada 2025 (2025)
Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada 2023 (2023)
Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada 2022 (2022)
Lexpert Special Edition: Health Sciences 2021 (2021)
Lexpert Special Edition: Litigation 2023 (2023)
Lexpert Special Edition: Litigation 2024 (2024)
Lexpert Special Edition: Technology 2020 (2020)
Lexpert Special Edition: Technology 2021 (2021)
Lexpert Special Edition: Technology and Health Sciences 2023 (2023)
Lexpert Special Edition: Technology and Health Sciences 2022 (2022)
Lexpert Special Edition: Technology and Health Sciences 2024 (2024)
Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars 2023 (2023)
Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars 2024 (2024)
The Best Lawyers in Canada 2017 (2016)
The Best Lawyers in Canada 2018 (2017)
The Best Lawyers in Canada 2019 (2018)
The Best Lawyers in Canada 2020 (2019)
The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers 2015 (2015)
Who's Who Legal: Canada 2015 (2015)
Who's Who Legal - The International Who's Who of Trademark Lawyers 2014 (2014)
Who's Who Legal: Thought Leaders - Global Elite 2022 (2022)
Who's Who Legal: Trademarks 2015 (2015)
Who's Who Legal: Trademarks 2016 (2016)
World Trademark Review 1000 2018 (2018)
World Trademark Review 1000 2019 (2019)
World Trademark Review 1000 2020 (2020)
World Trademark Review 1000 2021 (2021)
World Trademark Review 1000 2022 (2022)
World Trademark Review (WTR) Global Leaders 2025 (2025)
World Trademark Review 1000 2023 (2023)
World Trademark Review 1000 2024 (2024)
World Trademark Review 1000 2025 (2025)
World Trademark Review (WTR) 1000 2018 (2018)
World Trademark Review (WTR) Global Leaders 2020 (2020)
World Trademark Review (WTR) Global Leaders 2021 (2021)
World Trademark Review (WTR) Global Leaders 2022 (2022)
World Trademark Review (WTR) Global Leaders 2023 (2023)
World Trademark Review (WTR) Global Leaders 2024 (2024)