Biography
Zarya applies her training as a synthetic organic chemist and her seasoned understanding of business to litigating, evaluating, and securing patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights for clients in a variety of innovative and highly-regulated industries. She confidently navigates complex legal and regulatory environments and takes pride in helping companies of all sizes achieve timely and successful product launches.
Clients rely on Zarya’s advice throughout the product lifecycle, from opining on freedom to operate through executing creative and cost-effective litigation strategies. Zarya regularly appears before the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal in a variety of IP matters, and has also advocated for her clients before all levels of court in Ontario as well as trial courts in Alberta and British Columbia.
Zarya’s practice routinely involves coordinating Canadian litigation in the context of multi-jurisdictional disputes and advising on cross-border aspects of IP strategy. She is well-versed in both US and Canadian regulatory and patent law, particularly as it relates to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. She is licensed to practice law in Ontario and New York and has been admitted pro hac vice in the District of Delaware.
Zarya is regularly invited to speak on IP and litigation topics and is an active member of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada. As adjunct faculty at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, she is proud to work with the Structural Genomics Consortium to educate the next generation of creative biotech lawyers and advance the legal frontiers of open science. Zarya also sits on the board of Conscience, a Canadian not-for-profit organization that uses AI and open science to expedite medical breakthroughs.
When not enjoying the view of the Toronto Islands from her office (or leading the charge to the local pub for trivia night), Zarya can be found hiking the canyons of Utah, exploring the cafés of South America, or simply getting back to her roots in beautiful British Columbia.
Recent Speaking Engagements
- Women in IP Panel – IP Osgoode Society x Osgoode Women’s Network, Toronto, ON (November 24, 2023)
- “Remedies and Views on Non-Infringing Alternatives Post-Dow v. Nova“, 12th Annual University of Toronto Patent Colloquium, Toronto, ON (November 10, 2023)
- “Remedies for Patent Infringement – Dow v. Nova: Key Issues”, IPIC2022, Whistler, BC (Sept. 29, 2022)
- “Patent Case Law Review – Infringement”, Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (March 25, 2022)
- “Patent Case Law Review – Infringement”, Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (April 13, 2021)
- “Patent Case Law Review – Infringement”, Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (April 17, 2020)
- “Annual Pharma and Life Sciences Update”, Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (Sept. 10, 2019)
- “Women & the Law – Technology and IP Forum”, University of Toronto, Faculty of Law (Nov. 14, 2018)
- “CRISPR and Related Biotechnology Issues”, Technology and IP Group, Univ. of Toronto, Faculty of Law (Mar. 13, 2018)
- “Litigating IP Issues in Superior Court”, Ontario Bar Association (Nov. 22, 2016)
- Welcome Day – University of Toronto, Faculty of Law (Feb. 19, 2016)
- LAWS IP Conference, University of Toronto, Faculty of Law (Dec. 12, 2014)