Mariana Canto is a food engineer and patent specialist who joined Licks Attorneys’ Rio de Janeiro office in 2026. Before joining the firm, she accumulated over five years of experience in the field of intellectual property, primarily in food technology, chemistry, and life sciences. Her work involves conducting prior art searches, drafting patent applications, analyzing and reporting on technical opinions issued by the BRPTO, and developing responses to either comply with or contest said opinions, as well as performing infringement analyses, preparing third-party observations, and conducting freedom-to-operate analyses. Ms. Canto also has experience in the protection and registration of plant varieties.