Nathaniel Lipkus
Dec. 7, 2020
Canada is lagging in an overall “IP awareness and IP understanding,” but a new patent-collective pilot could add “institutional capacity to the ecosystem,” Osler partner Nathaniel Lipkus tells The Logic. In their article, authors Murad Hemmadi and Catherine McIntyre discuss The Innovation Asset Collective (IAC), which is a “non-profit that aims to help data-driven cleantech companies generate more patents and protect themselves from IP litigation.” The IAC was chosen for a four-year, $30-million pilot program as part of the federal government’s national IP strategy. The IAC, according to the article, will “acquire patents for data-driven cleantech firms to licence, help them generate more IP through education and funding, and try to safeguard members against patent trolls and lawsuits.” The article explores how the IAC could impact the IP landscape in Canada and any gaps that exist in Canada’s overall IP ecosystem. Nathaniel, a partner in Osler’s IP Group, offers his insights.
“A lot of what is lagging in Canada is just IP awareness and IP understanding to make good decisions,” Nathaniel tells The Logic, adding that the pilot could add “institutional capacity to the ecosystem” as an alternative to university tech-transfers.
Nathaniel also cautions that the “IAC will have to bet that the patents it chooses to acquire and license are the ones a member will need in the future.”
Nathaniel praises the quality of the IAC team, but adds that “it’s a very risky endeavour, and not one [where] you’re going to know whether you made the right decisions within four years.”
If you subscribe to The Logic, read more in the article “$30-million program to boost Canadian cleantech IP to launch Wednesday,” by authors Murad Hemmadi and Catherine McIntyre.