Prof. Sidney Omelon directs research on phosphate recovery with students in a laboratory at McGill University’s M.H. Wong Building in Montreal. The lab is shared with another research project on batteries. Bailee Johnson, centre, Nicola Wei and a researcher from the battery project work at their computers.Roger Lemoyne/The Globe and Mail
Karima Bawa is the strategic adviser on intellectual property for the Digital Technology Supercluster consortium. Peter Cowan is the chief executive of Intellectual Property Ontario.
Canada is lagging when it comes to intellectual property performance and competitiveness in the intangible economy – meaning capitalizing on assets such as data, services, designs or licences, for example. Intangible assets now account for over 91 per cent of the US$22-trillion total of S&P 500 companies, while less than 10 per cent of Canada’s business sector consists of intangible assets. Each year an even smaller percentage of firms in our country seek information or guidance on intellectual property (IP), according to Statistics Canada, signalling there is a lack of understanding or an accessibility issue when it comes to IP supports.
This matters to every Canadian, not just innovators themselves, because as the world shifts to one where high growth and productivity are coming from the intangible economy, our prosperity, job markets and future depends on harnessing our homegrown potential in this space.
Our lag in IP and intangible assets is not because great ideas and innovations aren’t born here. Canada is home to world-class postsecondary institutions and many innovative startup and scaleup companies.
But, without a foundation of an IP strategy and supporting IP rights, efforts in moving business and research to successful and sustainable commercialization have and will remain plateaued. Currently, Canadian businesses that manage their IP are approximately four times more likely to export, twice more likely to be high growth and nearly 12 per cent more likely to seek financing – and there is room for significant improvement there.
These figures underscore why there have been serious steps made in the past few years to help commercialize Canadian IP. The federal government launched an intellectual property strategy, invested in what is now the Innovation Asset Collective, and announced the creation of Elevate IP. Alberta and British Columbia are also taking their first steps in identifying their needs for local IP programs.
But with limited resources, a collective approach to providing trusted IP supports to our entrepreneurs and researchers is critical. This includes sharing of IP talent, collaborating on existing and new educational content, and more efficient uses of our IP infrastructure support so we can redirect saved dollars to expanding program offerings for everyone’s benefit.
An exciting addition to the IP ecosystem was launched Wednesday. Intellectual Property Ontario, or IPON, is the first provincial agency in Canada dedicated to helping researchers and businesses maximize the value of their IP and strengthen their capacity to grow and compete in the global economy.
The government of Ontario created IPON to be a centralized resource for IP education, trusted IP advice and mentorship programs, as well as financial supports for eligible clients. IPON is not only composed of IP experts, but also is governed by a board of directors who have industry experience and can empathize with the real challenges of startups and scale-ups.
One of IPON’s board members, Sally Daub, experienced first-hand the impact that effective IP management and strategy can have on a scaling business. At two previous semiconductor companies – ATI Technologies and ViXS Systems, which Ms. Daub co-founded – she had to manage patent litigation threats by large U.S. competitors, including Intel, that had historically better strategic management of their IP assets.
In both instances, because of early development and management of strong IP portfolios, the companies were able to counter litigation. In the case of ViXS, the stakes were high as the litigation was filed during the company’s initial public offering stage; however, the strong IP portfolio Ms. Daub was adamant about securing allowed the company to successfully continue with the listing and expansion plans.
Ontario innovators now have a new centralized IP resource to connect with – whether an incorporation hasn’t even been filed, or a business is at a later stage of IP development.
Canada has come a long way in the past few years by getting serious about how critical IP is for our future prosperity. There are exciting opportunities on our horizon, but there are also hurdles that need to be overcome. A collaborative approach to support programs that help businesses and innovators leverage their IP is one solution to help Canada move beyond our sticking point of scaling.
Your time is valuable. Have the Top Business Headlines newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox in the morning or evening. Sign up today.