A cross-Canada collaboration between more than a dozen organizations nationwide seeks to strengthen education and awareness around intellectual property for businesses and entrepreneurs.
The agreement connects government agencies, technology accelerators, and innovation engines from Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, and Atlantic Canada to develop a more coordinated ecosystem to help innovators better understand and leverage intellectual property.
“Canada’s strength depends on our ability to develop, protect, and scale the ideas and technologies that drive our economy,” posits federal minister of industry Mélanie Joly.
“Through this agreement, IP stakeholders have committed to collaborating in the advancement of available, accessible IP education tools,” Joly said.
“By working together, aligning around shared priorities, and drawing on the unique strengths and needs of our regions, we can create a more connected IP ecosystem and help ensure Canadian innovation contributes to Canada’s long-term prosperity, resilience, and competitiveness,” the minister remarked.
Participants in the project include Intellectual Property Ontario, Axelys, Communitech, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, MAIN Accélérer l’innovation au Québec, Springboard Atlantic, North Forge, DIGITAL, Invest Ottawa, Research Manitoba, New Ventures BC Society, Innovate BC, DIGITAL, and the Innovation Asset Collective.
Alberta’s representing organization is Innovate Calgary.
Kevin Dahl, who functions as senior director of Innovate Calgary’s ElevateIP Alberta program, suggests that “Intellectual Property education is most impactful when it moves beyond simply teaching innovators how to protect IP and helps them understand how to use it to build stronger, more competitive companies.”
Through ElevateIP Alberta, “we have been focused on making IP strategy practical, accessible, and connected to real business and commercialization decisions,” Dahl said.
“This collaboration gives us an exciting opportunity to build on that work alongside partners across Canada, sharing tools and expertise so that innovators—regardless of where they are located—have access to a more consistent pathway for understanding, developing, and leveraging their intellectual property,” the director stated.
Through the agreement, participating organizations will collaborate to develop a “common approach” to IP education; establish a shared “national competency framework” to organize content consistently; and share best practices and other insights.
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