Michael Crinson

Associate Judge Michael Crinson was born and raised in Stockton-on-Tees in North East England. He attended the University of Dundee, Scotland, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree (with Honours) in Biochemistry in 1988. After a time working in the pharmaceutical industry, he moved to Canada to attend the University of Guelph, where he received a Master of Science degree in Physics in 1991.

Associate Judge Crinson received his LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1997, articled with Scott & Aylen, and was called to the Ontario bar in 1999. While he was also a registered patent and trademark agent, his practice focused on contentious intellectual property matters, including patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, and ownership and inventorship disputes. He has been trial counsel on numerous contentious IP matters in a wide variety of technical areas, including medical devices, forestry equipment, pharmaceuticals, the food industry, electrical engineering, polymer chemistry and biotechnology, particularly genetically modified plant material.

Associate Judge Crinson has contributed to, and actively participated in, community organizations and legal associations, including the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property, the Canadian Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Law Society of Ontario and the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada. He has received accolades from his clients and peers alike in respected publications, including IAM Patent 1000, The Legal 500, Best Lawyers in Canada and Martindale-Hubbell, which describes him as a “distinguished” practitioner.

Appointed Associate Judge of the Federal Court on February 3, 2023.