Alistair Forster

Alistair Forster is involved with legal issues relating to patents including inventorship, ownership, and formalities. His practice encompasses patent portfolio coordination, patent drafting and prosecution, and due diligence. He is involved with the drafting and prosecution of patent applications in a broad range of technologies including computer hardware and software, chemical, electrical, and mechanical applications, as well as "green technologies", including wastewater and air effluent treatment.

Alistair is a chemical engineer, specialized in environmental engineering, including wastewater and air pollution treatment, and was employed for a number of years as a Product Engineer at an Ottawa-area technology company in the development, production, and field use of point-of-care blood analyte sensors.

Alistair's areas of interest include the patentability of software, and research in the areas of privacy and copyright. His research paper on the impact of technology on privacy and medical research garnered him the 2004 Ottawa Law Review Writing Prize. While a member of Pro Bono Students Canada, Alistair was involved in advising non-profit companies on issues of privacy and copyright. While at a local communications company, Alistair investigated and advised on open source licensing issues. He was also project manager at the University of Ottawa's School of Information Technology & Engineering in an initiative to build automated privacy protections mandated by law directly into health information management systems.

Alistair is a registered Canadian Trademark agent.

Education

•  B.A.Sc., Chemical Engineering, University of Ottawa
•  LL.B., Ottawa University

Professional Involvement

• Ontario Bar Association
• Canadian Bar Association
• Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI)