New federal initiatives aim to help entrepreneurs leverage intellectual property

The federal government has launched several new initiatives to help Canadian entrepreneurs secure, access and use intellectual property (IP) to build their businesses.

Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED), announced the selection of a new non-profit, the Innovation Asset Collective, to develop and run a patent collective. Under the government’s Patent Collective Pilot Program, the non-profit will receive $30 million to assist SMEs in the data-driven clean technology sector with their IP needs.

Bains also launched ExploreIP: Canada’s IP Marketplace, a new tool to help Canadian entrepreneurs and businesses access valuable IP held by government, academia or other public sector institutions. Entrepreneurs will be able to use the free and searchable database to contact the owners of more than 2,500 patents to negotiate a licence or explore opportunities to collaborate on future projects. ExploreIP was developed with the support of the Government of Australia and its Source IP platform, and in consultation with the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities, and Universities Canada.

Bains also announced that the law schools at University of Ottawa, University of Windsor, York University, and Université de Montréal will receive grants to develop or expand their IP legal clinic resources. Through the IP Legal Clinics Program, which offers a total of $200,000 per year in grants, the government is helping make pro bono or low-cost IP legal services more accessible to Canadian entrepreneurs and businesses.

Businesses using IP in patent-intensive industries have about eight to 10 times more revenue than those not using IP, ISED says. SMEs that hold formal IP are four more times likely to export and 64% more likely to be high-growth firms.

The new initiatives are the latest steps in Canada’s first Intellectual Property Strategy, an investment of $85.3 million over five years to help Canadian businesses, creators, entrepreneurs and innovators understand, protect and access IP. The strategy includes reforms to IP legislation and a focus on IP awareness and education.

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