Ryan J. Black

Ryan Black practises technology-related business law, with a particular focus on information technology, video games and esports, ‎intellectual property, and ‎internet-facing businesses. Ryan combines his expertise in these areas with a ‎background in corporate/commercial law, including mergers and acquisitions, ‎technology outsourcing, service provisioning, high-technology employment, ‎licensing and commercial contracting, and venture capital funding, to provide ‎clients with market-leading legal advice.‎

Ryan also regularly assists clients in acquiring, selling or commercializing technologies, ‎whether it is negotiating or drafting a term sheet or contract, strategizing with management, ‎closing a deal, or dealing with contractual issues or disputes. Ryan works with companies ‎across Canada and internationally who are systems integrators, consultants, developers, ‎retailers, publishers and service providers, particularly in the software, information ‎technology, consumer e-commerce and video game industries.‎

As a former software and Internet developer, Ryan has a unique insight to emerging technology matters important to today's businesses, such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, blockchain technologies, open source software, deepfakes, cloud computing, and social media. Ryan is a frequent speaker and presenter on a wide variety of legal matters including Canada's Anti-Spam Law (CASL), video game law and policy matters, technology trends and regulations, artificial intelligence, and intellectual property issues, and also is the co-author of "Internet Law Essentials: Canada's Anti-Spam Law", published by Specialty Technical Publishers.

Ryan also delivers practical advice on protecting the valuable information they hold or generate, such as: protecting trade secrets or other intellectual property; responding to cybersecurity, ransomware or cyber-extortion threats; complying with privacy and other regulatory regimes, or industry standards bodies, regarding sensitive or personal information; and developing internal and external policies, training and compliance programs relating to these topics.

Ryan is a member of the firm’s National Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee. In 2017, Ryan was named as one of Canada’s leading lawyers under 40 in Lexpert’s annual Rising Stars edition.  Since 2019 has been a Thomson Reuters Standout Lawyer (formerly Acritas Star) for peer-recommended lawyers, and he has also been recognized in rankings for Information Technology Law, FinTech Practice, Privacy and Data Security Law, Technology Transactions, Corporate, and Computer Law.

Ryan is formerly the lead Clinic Adjunct for the Centre for Business Law at the University of British Columbia Peter A. Allard School of Law, as well as formerly serving as director (and Chair, Governance) of the Canadian Internet Registration Authority.  He is currently a director of the Vancouver Fireworks Festival Society, Claren Academy Society and a director of the Video Game Bar Association.