IP experts will help lead and support innovators
The Alberta government has established the Alberta IP Office as a dedicated IP hub to provide commercial pathways within the province for local innovations, serving entrepreneurs, researchers, post-secondary institutions, and technology transfer offices.
The hub will be run by a board of directors, with locally and globally recognized IP experts guiding operations. They will help lead, guide, and support innovations developed within the province through the IP life cycle.
The IP Office aims to translate these innovations into commercial products, new ventures, and long-term economic growth, the provincial government said. The hub will also incorporate IP strategy into public financing programs.
The government has earmarked $8 million for the hub to implement innovator-supportive programs and services.
“Alberta has world-class researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators, but too often we give our IP away to other jurisdictions. The Alberta IP Office will help ensure that when great ideas are developed here, the IP is created, protected and commercialized here. That means Alberta-owned IP, Alberta companies, Alberta jobs and a stronger, more diversified economy,” said Nate Glubish, minister of technology and innovation, in a statement.
In the US, 60 percent of the workforce is engaged as knowledge workers, with 41 percent of GDP and 44 percent of jobs coming from IP-intensive sectors. The government noted that foreign firms own over 40 percent of Canadian inventions; between 2017 and 2019, just 1.1 percent of businesses in Canada filed patents.
The Alberta IP Office seeks to address gaps in fundamental IP awareness, protection, and commercialization within the province. It will look into data and patent pooling to bolster industry-specific openings and specialist expertise like legal support and market analysis.
The Council of Canadian Innovators applauded the hub’s establishment.
“CCI has long called for the Alberta government to pursue the value-added policies that support domestic companies in retaining, controlling and commercializing intangible assets like patents, trade secrets and data – an increasingly valuable commodity in the AI age,” said Jess Sinclair, CCI’s director of government affairs, Prairies. “Strong intellectual property policy is key to prosperity in the 21st century, and we are pleased to see the province is taking the step of ensuring Alberta tax dollars support protecting and commercializing homegrown ideas right here in the province.”
