IP Assist is a federal government funding program created by the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), with a mandate to provide IP advice, connections and funding through three different service offerings.
Funding
Eligible small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) can receive up to $1,000 for level 1: Awareness, $20,000 for level 2: Strategy, and $30,000 for level 3: Action. This program covers 75% of contractor costs and 80% of the direct salary cost of team members who would be spending time on this project.
Accepting applications?
Yes
Eligibility requirements
Applicants must
be a business incorporated and profit-oriented, operating as a SME in Canada
have 500 or fewer full-time equivalent employees
have plans to pursue growth and profit by developing and commercializing innovative, technology-driven products, services or processes in Canada
provide information regarding the project and a business plan
Funding streams
Level I, Awareness: provides businesses with access to advisors, resources and partner organizations to increase IP knowledge, best practices, and how to leverage/safeguard your innovations, covers learning-focused expenses.
Level II, Strategy: provides access to IP experts to assist in developing an IP strategy to support business goals, prioritize IP actions and insight related to your tech, competitors and the IP landscape. Includes intelligence gathering, strategy formulation, prior art searches, patent landscapes and competitive analysis.
Level III, Action: provides funding to help businesses execute the actions prioritized in IP strategy (tends to work in tandem with Level II). Includes trademark clearance searches, IP landscape analyses, prior art searches and analyses, patentability analyses, out-licensing strategy development, detailed competitive analyses, and reviewing trademark and branding strategies.
Timelines
There are no set timelines for IP Assist, other than those set out in any approved statements of work.
Work covered
IP information and educational modules, technology landscape search, competitive market landscape search, IP action plan, IP audits, further analysis of patent and/or competitor/market landscape search results, trademark clearance searching, drafting and review of commercial IP agreements.
Work not covered
Costs for drafting and prosecution of patents, patent office costs, patent annuity fees, fees due to national patent offices (filing fees, exam fees, maintenance fees), file management costs, whether internal to the firm or due to external service providers, freedom-to-operate opinion costs, infringement and validity opinion costs, memberships or subscriptions, conference fees.
Innovation Asset Collective (IAC) is an independent non-profit organization selected by the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) to assist SMEs with their IP needs, namely through funding for eligible IP business activities.
Funding
Full members of IAC can receive up to $20,000 per grant, while associate members can receive up to $10,000 per grant.
Accepting applications?
Yes
Eligibility requirements
Applicants must
be a member of IAC, whether full or associate
work in the data-driven clean tech sector
demonstrate alignment with the IP strategy of the organization
consider the business impact on the company
be in alignment with the IAC mandate advancing data-driven clean tech SME patent portfolios so that the SME can remain competitive as it scales
Funding streams
There are no particular streams of funding under IAC.
Timelines
There are no set timelines for IAC. Grants are awarded throughout the year without particular submission cycles or deadlines.
Work covered
IP strategy, competitive and landscape analyses, IP registration, education and training, IP licensing (IP agreements)
CanExport Innovation is a federal funding program administered by the Trade Commissioner Service and provides funding to assist with research and development (R&D) for a single technology, including assistance with collaborative R&D agreements with international partners.
Funding
Eligible applicants can receive up to $75,000 and this funding may cover up to 75% of the costs to pursue and sign collaborative R&D agreements with foreign partners.
Accepting applications?
No
Eligibility requirements
Applicants must
be registered in Canada
have a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) business number
own, co-own, or have decision-making authority over the intellectual property (IP) rights for the technology
have a prototype (Technology Readiness Level 4 or higher)
intend to commercially launch the technology within five years
Eligible Canadian organizations are defined as
small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs for-profit companies with fewer than 500 full-time equivalent employees. (The organization must be an incorporated legal entity, limited liability partnership (LLP) or cooperative in Canada. Sole proprietorships are ineligible.)
academic institutions: recognized Canadian educational institutions dedicated to education and research
non-government research centres: research organizations that are not wholly or majority funded by the government
Funding streams
There are no particular streams of funding under CanExport Innovation.
Timelines
The CanExport Innovation program accepts applications during three designated periods each fiscal year starting on
March 1
June 1
Work covered
IP protection applications in foreign markets, international trade certifications, expert business and legal advice, shipping technology to determine feasibility/compatibility with partner’s technology, translating, adapting and creating promotional plans or materials, virtual networking functions, meetings or conferences, travel abroad or in Canada to meet with pre-identified foreign partners, attending events or conferences to meet with pre-identified foreign partners.
Work not covered
Technology development, such as working with foreign partners to conduct a pilot of applicant’s technology, conduct clinical trials or re-leverage the technical expertise of the foreign partner to test the applicant’s technology, technology adaptation, such as work that involves modifying an applicant’s existing technology to fit a new market or sector, technology validation, such as testing the applicant’s technology by foreign partners who will be first adopters.
The Indigenous Intellectual Property Program Grant is a federally funded program to make IP systems more accessible to Indigenous peoples, facilitate their use of the IP system to protect their innovations and creations and support protection and use of IP and IP-related Indigenous knowledge and cultural expressions.
Funding
A total of $150,000 in non-repayable grants is available to eligible applicants each year.
Accepting applications?
Yes
Eligibility requirements
Eligible Indigenous organizations must
focus on intellectual property; and/or
have a connection to the protection of Indigenous knowledge and Indigenous cultural expressions
Funding streams
Stream 1 – World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) travel stream: This stream makes funds available for travel to WIPO events, meetings and negotiations related to IP and Indigenous knowledge and Indigenous cultural expressions, particularly the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) — not exceeding $6,000 per person per trip. Applicants must be accredited observers to the intended meeting in order to be eligible for funding under this stream.
Stream 2 – Small-scale initiative stream: This stream makes funds available for short-term IP-related activities, limited in scale and scope, and resources required — not exceeding $15,000.
Stream 3 – Project stream: This stream makes funds available for IP-related projects that are more complex or comprehensive than small-scale initiatives, requiring more resources and a longer duration and can include a combination of activities as listed below — not exceeding $50,000.
Timelines
Application period for 2026–2027 is open until August 26, 2026.
Work covered
Activities include development of IP strategy, including associated expert advice, research on and registration of IP, and obtaining expert advice on issues related to the protection of IP and Indigenous knowledge and Indigenous cultural expressions.
Work not covered
The IIPP grant cannot fund proposals focused on knowledge about places and locations with no links to IP (sacred sites, migration routes, etc.) or the preservation, maintenance, creation, or development of Indigenous knowledge and cultural expressions with no link to protection through IP or other means. For example, recording the process of creating a handicraft or harvesting a plant without consideration of how the recording or the Indigenous knowledge itself will be protected.
ElevateIP is a federally funded, provincially administered program covering IP education, the development of IP strategy and the implementation of IP strategies for Canadian startups.
Funding
Eligible applicants can receive up to $100,000 in funding, with applicants responsible for 10–35% of eligible costs.
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