The soon to be established IP Village, is intended to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in Canada, utilize and leverage intellectual property effectively, to gain business and market share advantage.
The IP Village is a collaboration between the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), Export Development Canada (EDC), Global Affairs Canada – Trade Commissioner Service (GAC-TCS), Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC) and the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP).
This initiative extends existing partnerships to build a working group where thought leadership practices, practical intelligence, best practices, questions and answers are shared. The working group will then use its network of trade commissioners (GAC–TCS), industrial technology advisors (NRC IRAP), international business advisors (EDC), IP agents and lawyers (IPIC), IP educators (CIPO), program officers (Innovation Canada–ISED) and investors (BDC) to help the SME community by:
- Coordinating and tapping into their areas of expertise to identify and bridge gaps in the effective use of IP among Canadians and the support available for IP-rich SMEs
- Developing, presenting and promoting IP education and information
- Limiting duplication of effort
- Strengthening the ability of all parties to guide Canadian enterprises and connect them with IP information and expertise
Of practical assistance to all SMEs, the IP Village will initially create a series of five webinars called IP Talks. Through these webinars, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and their partners will discuss the standard life cycle of intellectual property and government support, such as funding and assistance.
The first session in this series of webinars, addresses the question of protecting your intellectual property and is available here.
If you have any questions or would like advice related to intellectual property, or if you have questions in relation to matters of real estate, corporate law, intellectual property and trust and estate matters, please contact us at 604-688-4900 or by email to Paul Barbeau at paul@barbeau.co or to Morgan Best at morgan@barbeau.co