The  (IRAP) and the  (IPIC) have partnered to offer the  program for Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”). IPilogue readers may have seen ’s&�Բ�����; of another CIC program, , which provides funding for a similar purpose through a different government channel. That article outlined the motivation behind these types of programs and summed up that  Canadian SMEs often lack access to the means to protect intellectual property (IP) and highlighted a clear economic need for innovative Canadian businesses to improve their IP commercialization.

NRC IRAP, CIC, and IPIC

The NRC IRAP provides a range of innovation support services for Canadian SMEs. The program offers funding, advisory services, and networking opportunities to help SMEs undertake research and development (“R&D”) and to commercialize, and improve their competitiveness in domestic and global markets. IRAP also provides support for technology adoption, productivity improvement, and business expansion. On February 16, 2023, the Government of Canada announced that NRC IRAP will be integrated into the  (CIC).

The CIC will be a new, operationally independent organization solely dedicated to supporting business R&D across all regions and all sectors of the economy. It is a federal initiative that will be  that aims to “play an important role in building a stronger and more innovative Canadian economy for generations to come.” The CIC will include an umbrella of programs, including both IP Assist and ElevateIP, to support the development and exploitation of IP.

IPIC is Canada’s professional association of patent agents, trademark agents and lawyers practicing in all areas of intellectual property (“IP”) law and is comprised of over 1700 members.  is to match SMEs with IPIC members who practice in their specific industry. The IP professional will help SMEs better understand the key aspects of IP and how it can support their business goals.

The IP Assist Program

There are three levels to the IP Assist Program — levels 1, 2 and 3 (L1, L2, L3, respectively). Each level brings :L1 – up to $1k, L2 – up to $20k, L3 – up to $20k+), as well as increasing engagement with an IP professional matched to the SME:

The L1 IP Awareness is a one-to-one IP awareness session during which an IP professional will provide industry-specific IP information and guidance to an SME. Engagement at L1 provides IP professionals with an opportunity to connect, support and guide innovative Canadian SME to help them achieve their business goals. Engagements with SMEs will take, on average, up to 3 hours and include an IP awareness presentation followed by Q&As.

The L2 IP Strategy relates to the IRAP SME’s specific technology space, aligns with the IRAP SMEs business objectives, and provides IRAP SMEs with specific prioritized IP actions. The IP Strategy must be informed by key relevant information relating to the technology and competitor landscapes relevant to the IRAP SMEs.

The L3 IP Implementation relates to detailed IP asset assessments, such as IP audits, trademark clearance searches, prior art searches and analysis, advice on branding strategy, legal analysis of IP landscaping, patentability analysis, licensing strategy formulation, and other activities. However, some patent and trademark preparation services and filing fees may not be covered.

Conclusion

Canada’s investment in the CIC indicates that there is an increased focus on innovation as a driver of economic growth. There is also a clear aim through programs like IP Assist and ElevateIP to ensure that IP generated by innovative SMEs in Canada are carefully strategized for and well-protected. Hopefully, this increases Canadian presence in innovation and brings greater investment in R&D into Canada.

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Egin Kongoli is an IP Innovation Clinic Fellow and a 3L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. This article was written as a requirement for Prof. Pina D’Agostino’s IP Intensive program.

When I was first assigned a utility provider as my placement for the Intellectual Property Law and Technology Intensive, I thought, “What does providing electricity have to do with intellectual property?” As I quickly learned, businesses that haven’t traditionally dealt with IP rights are facing a rising tide of related challenges as they seek to capitalize on new opportunities. Intellectual property directly supports Alectra Utility Corporation’s evolution from a distributor of electricity to a springboard for greater opportunities for their customers. While Alectra’s traditional role as a service provider still makes up most of its business, the provides new incentives to support innovative research and development. My internship at Alectra was spent on, among other things, the ongoing development of an intellectual property strategy to capture more value from the utility’s emerging collaborative business, along with consideration of its institutional business.

Reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 requires a significant transformation of Ontario’s energy system. As a utility provider serving over a million Ontarians, Alectra is poised at the forefront of this project. Through the Green Energy & Technology Centre (GRE&T Centre), Alectra cultivates innovation by identifying, evaluating, and accelerating emerging clean-energy solutions. The work is cutting-edge, like 2021’s GridExchange Pilot, a transactive, blockchain-backed energy platform and marketplace. Through GridExchange, customers with energy assets like solar panels, battery storage, or electric vehicles can receive compensation and rewards for managing their energy use, such as . From municipalities to start-ups, many are eager to access utility data so that they might develop other innovative solutions. Proper strategy, governance, processes, policies and contracts are needed to ensure any IP creation resulting from the collaboration and any real upside potential can be shared with Alectra.

IP strategy determines a standard for how rights-based issues will be handled in the collaborative environment. Canadian universities have paved the way in this regard. Like Alectra, these institutions aim to serve the public interest through the fruits of intellectual inquiry by enabling and encouraging research and development. University IP policies vary, but they all grapple with similar legal issues such as disclosure, use, ownership, commercialization, and revenue sharing. As third-party members working with Alectra and the GRE&T Centre receive data alongside meaningful learning and experience, using personal information by third parties will require careful consideration of not just legal obligations but also Alectra’s reputation. Current privacy legislation dictates that corporations must obtain valid consent from the individual to collect, use or disclose their personal information. At the same time, the federal government’s newly proposed Bill C-27, the Consumer Privacy Protection Act, weaves a web of exceptions to regulated practices that obfuscates oversight. For example, the CPPA excludes “anonymized data” from its purview, regardless of the ongoing debate on whether data can ever be de-identified without a remaining risk of re-identification. However, the proposed legislation permits the de-identification of data and the use of this material without the requisite knowledge or consent of the customer if the disclosure is made for “a socially beneficial purpose,” including the “protection of the environment.” By way of example, if Alectra or another utility discloses data to develop clean-energy infrastructure or energy-saving services, would it be excluded as a socially beneficial purpose? If a business anonymizes and aggregates its data sets, does this mean such disclosures are excluded entirely from regulatory oversight? Personal information must not be collected or used to influence an individual’s behaviour or decisions, but what if such a purpose is an alleged “socially beneficial” one?

My time at Alectra was illuminating. The work was not only related to intellectual property law but was also challenging and required endless inquiry to understand the nuanced interplay of laws and a business’s interests. From privacy to protecting against misappropriation, data practices demand multiple layers of legal and operational consideration. Whether through an NDA or an employment contract, a business’s dealings must reflect its IP strategy. Collaborative agreements must delineate contributions made by the company and benefits shared back. As , contractual measures must be taken to protect the data, but cannot be so strict as to dissuade collaboration. These challenges, and others unnamed here, offer exciting opportunities for lawyers working in the utility space as intellectual property law continues to fuel innovation.

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Photo by Buda Photography

Jasmine Yu is a Senior Editor and a 2L JD/MBA Candidate at the University of Toronto.

Nancy Chen is an IPilogue Writer and a 2L JD/MBA Candidate at the University of Toronto.

On November 9, IP Osgoode, Reichman University and Microsoft hosted the first in-person Bracing for Impact Conference since 2019. The conference focused on “The Future of AI for Society.” While AI is full of exciting possibilities, real-world application and integration are relatively nascent. Implementing AI technology in society requires complex interdisciplinary engagement between engineers, social scientists, application area experts, policymakers, users, and impacted communities. At the conference, an esteemed lineup of speakers across disciplines discussed the forms that interdisciplinary collaboration could take and how AI can help shape a more just, equitable, healthy, and sustainable future.

sought to contextualize the promise of AI for the future of urban development and was chaired by Hon. Maurizio Bevilacqua, the Mayor of Vaughan. As an elected Mayor, Hon. Bevilacqua put this panel in the context of AI serving the purpose of improving lives — a goal of the of which he and Professor Pina D’Agostino, Founder & Director of IP Osgoode and Bracing for Impact Conference Chair, were a part. The task force identified Smart City opportunities for improving the city through innovation, communication technology, and mobility management — using initiatives to improve road safety, reduce traffic congestion, and encourage residents to participate in active transportation.

Professor Zachary Spicer: Smart Cities – A Unique Challenge

is an Associate Professor at the School of Public Policy and Administration at �첥��Ƶ. He examined Municipal governments’ capacity for Smart City Development and AI adoption, focusing on the constraints of resources, scale, and provincial legislation.

Professor Spicer viewed that while Smart City technology can provide various benefits, such as the opportunity to maximize budgets and create efficiencies, they also bring a host of novel challenges. For instance, in the context of applying AI to transportation, Professor Spicer emphasized the importance of considering the potential skills and engagement gaps when procuring Smart City technology within municipalities in Canada. We must ensure that the relevant personnel must have the necessary understanding, skills and resources related to AI technology and data governance.

Dr. Vera Roberts: Marginalized Communities and AI

is the Senior Manager of Research, Consulting and Projects at the Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) of OCAD University. She advocated for people with disabilities, identifying that this marginalized community is often excluded from the AI system development process and therefore inadequately represented.��

Dr. Roberts explained that because AI systems are machines, we tend to view these systems as operating on pure logic and immune to human biases. However, she stresses that we must keep in mind that AI systems learn from human data, which can be flawed. We should shift our focus to examining biases within the actual input data training AI systems and whether they accurately represent marginalized groups. Currently, AI systems are largely trained on data from “normal people,” limiting their applicability to people with disabilities. When data is included on people with disabilities, Dr. Roberts comments that it usually only includes the fact that they are different from the standard population. The IDRC has several ongoing projects, such as , targeting these issues and creating more inclusive AI systems.��

Mr. Keith Hemingway: Bringing AI to Utilities

Keith Hemingway is the Head of Advanced Planning at the In his opinion, the biggest change in the AI space right now is the increased accessibility to data that was previously protected and hidden away. As the utilities industry moves towards e-mobility and the electrification of transit and heating, companies need to turn towards AI for new schemes and frameworks to implement these changes.��

However, the use of AI raises new issues concerning data privacy. For example, to increase efficiency in resolving outages, Mr. Hemingway brings up the possibility of using drones to visually scan pole lines to identify the outage-causing fault. In this scenario, there runs a risk of capturing more footage than necessary – instead of just seeing the faulty insulator, the drone might accidentally capture someone’s backyard, thus infringing that individual’s privacy. Ultimately, it boils down to what exactly constitutes data and how utility companies can balance using AI to improve electrical systems for the public good while respecting data privacy boundaries.��

Professor Guy Seidman: Bracing for the Impact of Autonomous Vehicles

is a Professor of Law at the Harry Radzyner Law School of Reichman University. He was extremely passionate about the impending arrival of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs), their impacts on our daily lives, and their potential legal ramifications. Professor Seidman recognized that mass electric AV adoption can have benefits such as traffic accident reduction, improved air quality, and freed up urban space from a reduced need for parking spaces (assuming that AVs need not be parked). However, Professor Seidman also identified several barriers to mass AV adoption, including technological feasibility and transition difficulties, wherein different demographics have a differing willingness to trust AVs — the more educated tend to be more accepting of AVs.

Professor Seidman does not anticipate complex legal solutions to questions of accident liability when AVs are involved. Rather, he was optimistic that tort and insurance law will naturally evolve to deal with such issues. He viewed that the more significant discussions revolve around public policy around social and economic ramifications of AV adoption. Finally, Professor Seidman also suggested that we should hesitate to eliminate Traffic Law entirely as AVs become more prevalent, as it is arguably the widest form of legal education. Convincingly, Professor Seidman ended the discussion by concluding that these impending issues must be considered now, so that we are bracing for the impact of incoming AI innovation.

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Anita Gogia is a IPilogue Writer and a 2L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.

iRobot Corp was recently issued a against its competitor SharkNinja Operating LLC for . The product in question was the innovative Roomba robotic vacuum and floor cleaning device. While the final decision is yet to be given in , the recent holding recommends an of any infringing SharkNinja devices. Once approved by ITC commissioners in February, this remedy will be enforced regardless of any appeals.

Such a decision is important as it provides credence to the work and intellectual property of iRobot engineers in revolutionizing home cleaning products. The iRobot portfolio consists of other technology innovations and ideas in .

It was found that SharkNinja was infringing two out of the four patents claimed by iRobot. The court found SharkNinja to infringe on two out of four of iRobot’s relevant patents, specifically for . While SharkNinja also infringed a patent for autonomous floor cleaning, there was no determination of a violation as the Patent Trial and Appeal Board had . The fourth patent for map-based training was . SharkNinja based their defence on the invalidity of iRobot’s patents. They that the patents were revisions of known technology and that such protection supresses innovation. For example, regarding the mapping patents, SharkNinja says, “”.

In the past, iRobot has applied their patent protections to . The iRobot advanced technologies have justified the high price for their products but have seen a largely due to competition from SharkNinja. In selling their vacuums for below half the price of the Roomba, SharkNinja has grown to be the in North America. According to representatives from iRobot, “”. Shark’s “plan” may work despite this decision, as the ban may not take place until February 2023, well beyond the holiday season when many household gifts such as robotic vacuum cleaners are purchased.

iRobot has revolutionized the home cleaning devices industry. However, a monopoly is typically considered contrary to public interest. One may argue that it is not reasonable for consumers to have no choice but to purchase an expensive robotic vacuum or not have one when a lower-quality and affordable one exists that offers the technology to navigate cleaning areas, autonomous charging, and map floor layouts. Perhaps if a consumer is willing to sacrifice quality to save money in their household, they should be able to.

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Aaron Dishy is an IPilogue Writer and a 3L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Web resources survive only if a third party preserves them, and not all third parties initiate the preservation of web-based content. A website owner may abandon one hosting platform for another, or an author might remove content on their own accord. As content changes or is removed, hypertext links that direct a user to a resource are disrupted. In each case, hypertext vulnerability threatens the integrity of resulting scholarship, as footnotes may no longer support the claims they purport to.

This phenomenon is known as link rot or reference rot. Link rot occurs when URL hypertext fails to direct an individual to a targeted file, webpage, or server, due to that resource being relocated or unavailable. Colloquially, these links are broken or dead. occurs when a hypertext link remains active, but the information referenced by the citation is no longer present or has been modified. There are limited surveys on the nature of link rot in Canada. However, of Electronic Thesis Dissertations deposited between 2011-2015 at Concordia University, determined that nearly a quarter of hypertext links cited exhibited linkrot.

, developed by the , is the largest caching solution to link rot used by authors and journal editors to integrate the preservation of cited material with the act of citation. Although used primarily by American institutions, the tool has also been adopted by some Canadian universities. When a user creates a Perma.cc link, Perma.cc archives the referenced content and generates a link to an archived record of the page. Notwithstanding changes to an original source, the archived record is always available through the Perma.cc link.

However, Canadian institutions might be wary of the adoption of Perma.cc for two reasons. First, Canadian “data sovereignty” — Canada’s right to control the access and disclosure of its digital information subject only to Canadian laws — is at increased risk if the preservation of our academic output is subject uniformly to American intellectual property law. Similarly, Canadian citations and reference information could be shared with foreign governments, potentially without fair notice.

Second, federal, and provincial governments have gone to lengths to promote Canadian “.” Data residency aims to ensure that valuable information is stored within and accessed from inside of Canada. This protects information by making reasonable and localized security arrangements to prevent unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, or disposal. Additionally, it also better allows for data to be kept under the laws and policies of any province or territory.

It must be acknowledged that several attempts have been made to address link rot in Canada. For example, programs like provided an on-demand archive site, designed to digitally preserve scientific and educationally important materials. However, such endeavors , institutional backing, and effective monetary resources to sustain themselves long-term. For Canadians to better preserve academic output, the creation of a Perma.ca may be our best bet.

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Anita Gogia is an IPilogue Writer and a 2L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Concrete jungles around the world illustrate the man-made burden on the planet. Concrete is a carbon-intensive ingredient in construction and makes up at least . When it comes to industrial processes, .

To resolve the issue and alleviate the output of greenhouse gasses, a cement-free concrete named EarthCrete is being developed by CarbonMeta. EarthCrete was recently assessed by researchers at Oxford and CarbonMeta Research who confirmed that EarthCrete is actually on July 26, 2022. Particularly, using emissions.

The pace to carbon-free construction is also accelerated by engineers and researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Pennsylvania State University who are using their federal grants to approach carbon-neutral cement manufacturing. The researchers hope to turn building material into a “.” In the system, carbon would be captured from the air by with rapid mineral carbonation. This technique would recycle industrial waste into a cement alternative. The researchers hope to create a long-lasting building material that extracts more CO₂ from the air than it emits.

Another grant has been provided to UIC, UW-Madison, and Fort Lewis College for the . Calcium hydroxide is a crucial ingredient in cement, and the low-temperature calcium hydroxide procedure (LoTECH) would create calcium hydroxide from industrial waste. Such (and the thermal decomposition of limestone), and act to further ��reduce the carbon footprint of cement production.

At the University of Colorado Boulder, , therefore creating another potential carbon-neutral concrete. The microalgae creates calcium carbonate through photosynthesis. Using sunlight, seawater or freshwater, and CO₂, microalgae produces calcium carbonate shells. The process is carbon neutral because the CO₂ emitted when used to make cement is equal to the CO₂ the microalgae absorbed. The biogenic limestone behaves the same as regular limestone which makes it feasible to incorporate into cement production. The researchers that this biogenic limestone would save two gigatons of CO₂ emissions yearly. The researchers also that the 1-2 million acres of open ponds in the US make it possible to produce enough biogenic limestone to satisfy cement demands.

In review of progresses to environmentally friendly cement, federal grants have played a crucial role. At a global scale, carbon-neutral or carbon-negative innovations will be the key to offsetting the damage done and accessing sustainable resources.

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Anita Gogia is an IPilogue Writer and a 2L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Pessimism is to innovative culture as heat is to ice. It slowly destroys but can be remedied by its polar opposite. On April 28, Halimah DeLaine Prado, the general counsel at Google, wrote about her optimism for innovative culture in an online post. She outlined reforms and recommendations that .

Google’s contribution to the US patent system

Healthy patent systems can sometimes be as a way to incentivize creative inventions, encourage building on existing ideas, and avoid frivolous litigation. Google has created a space that incentivizes innovation by being one of the first companies to . Google has invested in patenting and licensing their engineers’ inventions (), and has sold patents to smaller companies to help strengthen their portfolios. Google also helped the License on Transfer Network. This Network protects members from patent trolls’ claims, these ‘patent trolls’ are described as companies that bring patent claims for profit and to supress competition.

Concern with the US patent system

Patent litigation has been on the , with 46% more patent litigation lawsuits in 2021 than in 2018.

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Patent trolls and opportunistic companies, as DeLaine Prado describes, weaponize patents against competitors which deters innovation and harms the quality of new products. Most notably, says the American “prized ‘culture of innovation’ is being undermined by a ‘culture of litigation.’” ��Such litigation wastes court resources and are a shakedown tactic or to “stretch patents beyond recognition.” Resources spent on wasteful litigation is better used in research and development for new products. In contrast, Google has a history of confronting overreaching patent claims and defending their users and products. Smaller companies “nascent technologies” are unable to fight these lawsuits without raising costs for consumers or harming their ability to create new products.

Google’s recommendation

Google proposes 3 developments: support for the US Patent Trademark Office (PTO), Judiciary review of forum shopping, and congressional changes to address patent abuse.

The PTO receives . The evaluation process has not been streamlined because PTO employees are under-resourced despite the PTO working on AI solutions. Such inefficiency leads to possible issuances of invalid patents, inventors may then be unable to protect their inventions confidently. Others end up having to defend infringement claims against patents that . Google that investing in the patent office can help prevent such issues and are that “important work can finally begin” by the new director of the PTO, Kathi Vidal.. Google also funding the PTO by increasing fees for larger patent filers (including themselves).

At the judicial level, Google Chief Justice Roberts urgently investigates the judicial imbalances caused by abusive forum shopping. DeLaine Prado recommends ending forum shopping as many companies suing patent claims may damage the integrity of the judicial process. In a year-end report on the federal judiciary, Justice Roberts pledged to direct the judicial conference to address patent venue rules and that the . The extreme concentration of patent cases in Waco, Texas in Judge Alan Albright’s court has concerned Senators. To illustrate, approximately 20% of all US patent litigation is filed in Judge Albright’s court.

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Senators have also raised concern that Judge Albright has . have raised concern that this patent-owner friendly policy attracts patent trolls. Senators also note that current case assignment procedures may allow the plaintiff to select a specific judge to hear their case.

Google supports legislation before congress that reduces abusive patent litigation, restoring access to inter partes review, and increasing accountability. Inter partes review was a created by Congress as part of the America Invents Act that helps companies cost-effectively invalidate low-quality patents. This program was created to provide expert review of patents with the greatest impact on the US economy, however changed PTO rules created some barriers to use the program that could be reduced.

Overall, Google’s concern with the lack of promotion of innovation and creativity by the US patent system will likely spark debate and potential reform in the near future.

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Emily Xiang is an IPilogue Writer, the President of the Intellectual Property Society of Osgoode, and a 2L JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.

This article is part of a series covering the 5th Annual IP Data & Research Conference, hosted by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and the Centre for International Governance Innovation.

On Thursday, March 24th, 2022, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) and the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) hosted their 5th Annual IP Data & Research Conference. For their third themed session, “IP Metrics”, experts were invited to speak about the ways they have been observing global IP trends, making IP data more accessible, and measuring the impact of IP on economic growth in Canada.

Where do Canadians Patent? Implications for Canada’s Patent Regime

Joel Blit, Professor of Economics at the University of Waterloo and CIGI Senior Fellow, kicked off the session. Blit examined the countries in which Canadian investors filed patent applications and sought to determine the extent to which the Canadian patent regime fosters domestic innovation. He found that Canadians were increasingly filing patents abroad, with more Canadians filing in at least one other country each year. Results also showed that patents filed exclusively in the US related to more advanced fields of computer sciences and technologies, while Canada-exclusive patents focused more on special-purpose machinery and the resources and energy sectors. Canadian patents also tended to belong to individual inventors rather than larger assignees, involved fewer inventors, and were cited less frequently, making them relatively less valuable in the global market for innovation.

Blit puts forward several potential explanations. One is that the Canadian patent system is providing less incentive over time for protecting domestic innovations. Another explanation is that Canadian patents are too strong, meaning it may be preferable to “weaken” them by setting higher examination standards, limiting patentable subject matter, or reducing the scope of issuable patents. That Canadians are increasingly patenting abroad could mean that Canadian inventors are becoming increasingly sophisticated, yet it could also mean that Canadian innovations and ideas are more frequently bought up by multinationals. Either way, the current Canadian patents regime seems to play a relatively minor role in promoting domestic innovation worldwide.

Identifying Artificial Intelligence (AI) Invention: A Novel AI Patent Dataset

Nicholas A. Pairolero, Economist in the Office of the Chief Economist at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). delivered the second presentation of the session. Pairolero’s team sought to make data on AI more accessible to the public by developing a novel dataset that identified AI tech components in over 13.2 million USPTO patents and pre-grant publications.

After first determining a definition of AI, Pairolero and his team searched through USPTO’s patents using an automated machine learning (ML) model that differentiated between patent documents that did and did not contain any AI component technology. In the evaluation stage, expert AI examiners evaluated each document for AI component technology. Compared to more traditional, query-based approaches, the ML approach resulted in relatively lower precision (as a much larger number of documents were identified as containing AI), but a much higher recall (higher probability of correctly identifying AI). Moreover, both machines and humans seemed to struggle with classification at the boundaries of the various AI component technologies. However, results indicated that the ML approach achieved state-of-the-art overall performance relative to a variety of existing benchmarks from academic and policy literature, holding much promise for the future of automated processing in expediting the transmission of publicly available data.

Missions, Mandates and Metrics: What are the Right Metrics for Academic Technology Transfer?

The session concluded with a pair of presentations by Mike Szarka, Director of Research Partnerships at the University of Waterloo, and Natalie Raffoul, IP Lawyer and Managing Partner at Brion Raffoul LLP. Szarka began by suggesting that most Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) focused on some combination of a) maximizing gross revenue and licensing income generally; b) focusing on the few projects that would maximize profits; c) maximizing knowledge mobilization and research impact; d) maximizing local economic growth, and e) maximizing client satisfaction and prioritizing the needs of faculty and students. Szarka’s surveying of TTO directors across the country demonstrated that knowledge mobilization, economic development, and service to academic communities ranked much higher in the minds of the respondents than revenue generation, indicating that commonplace TTO metrics focused on royalties do not reflect the true priorities and missions of most TTOs.

Raffoul identified several alternative metrics focused on “the betterment of Canadian society”. Average reported business expenditures invested into research and development () and have been low in Canada compared to the global stage. The greater concern is whether Canadians are owning their ideas and subsequently having the opportunity to commercialize those ideas downstream (instead of assigning their rights over to foreign firms). Raffoul suggested that TTOs ought to track the number of patents they are licensing/optioning/transferring to Canadian headquartered firms compared to foreign ones, along with the revenue generated from those licenses/options/transfers and any research collaborations with those firms. For company-sponsored academic research, co-ownership of patents ought to be held up to co-authorship of papers and publications, in order to correlate evidence of knowledge creation with the ultimate ownership and control of that knowledge.

Conclusion

Though there is much work to be done for Canadian innovators and owners to remain competitive in the global market, the most recent advancements in research and technology prove that Canada is well-positioned to identify shortcomings and well-equipped to tackle them.

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This fall semester, I had a ten-week internship at Xanadu Quantum Computing Inc. (“Xanadu”) as part of the Intellectual Property Law and Technology Intensive Program (“IP Intensive”). With a previous academic background in science and engineering, I went to law school knowing that I wanted to become an IP lawyer and be involved in legal matters that implicated technical issues. In addition, I have always been interested in the latest technologies and excited to hear about innovative ideas. Therefore, the high-tech company ranks first in my list of placement organizations. My experience at Xanadu meets and exceeds all my expectations. I have learned a lot of practical knowledge in intellectual property, technology, and business.

Xanadu is a scale-up company building a full-stack quantum computing platform based on photonics. Their hardware includes the chips that the company does all their own design, and these chips are based on silicon photonics. Xanadu also develops software and offers the Penny Lane, which is a premier quantum machine learning library for users to access the hardware from the company and all the other providers as well. The cloud platform of Xanadu is called Strawberry fields, and it’s built for quantum
developers to design, optimize, and utilize photonic quantum algorithms without the need for expert quantum knowledge. Xanadu has a growing IP portfolio, including granted and pending patents, licenses, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets.

The ten-week placement allows me to gain hands-on experience analyzing IP portfolios, drafting legal research memos, and connecting IP strategy with business goals. I found it was interesting to explore the IP strategies of different companies by investigating their patent features. Through the analyzing process, I have learned how different companies took different approaches in filing patents based on their sizes and business goals. Moreover, I developed my legal research and writing skills when investigating and summarizing IP strategies applied by major market players. I also reinforced my ability to keep organized when conducting legal research with a wide range of resources.

Additionally, I have learned the importance of combining the legal considerations with corporate operation and management, increasing the IP awareness of employees, and protecting the IP assets of the company. Furthermore, I was fortunate to have plenty of opportunities to learn new technologies and keep track of the latest innovations. It is rewarding to help protect innovative ideas and work with talents who have profound knowledge in their profession.

I worked closely with my supervisor David Asgeirsson, the partnerships and IP manager at Xanadu, and the patent lawyer Steven Cheng, an expert in IP prosecution and enforcement. They kindly allowed me to work on a flexible schedule so that I did not feel stressed when facing a 12-hour time difference with most of my colleagues. Meanwhile, they were always willing to answer my questions, provide insightful comments, and offer helpful suggestions. They helped me overcome the challenges in understanding the quantum computing theory, major technologies in this field, and Xanadu’s services and products. With their guidance, I entered a promising quantum world coupled with interesting IP issues.

Overall, my internship at Xanadu is one of the highlights of my law school journey, and I believe it will assist in shaping my future career in the legal profession. I enhanced my legal research skills, gained practical IP knowledge in an in-house setting, and built valuable relationships with legal and quantum computing professionals. I am so thankful to my supervisor and colleagues at Xanadu for their guidance and advice. I am so grateful to everyone at IP Osgoode for arranging this amazing learning opportunity. If you are interested in IP law, technology, and business, I would strongly recommend the IP Intensive and the placement with Xanadu.

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Photo by Francois Le Nguyen ()

Emily Chow is an��IPilogue��Writer and a 1L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.���� �� ����

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2022 is primed to be an important year for humanity’s actions against global warming. COP26 (Conference of Parties) . It generated momentum that must continue to meet the goal of the by 2050: to reduce the Earth’s temperature by 1.5°C. 196 Parties adopted this internationally binding treaty. With the additional challenges brought forth by COVID-19, (net)zero-carbon solutions urgently need to be implemented across all levels and structures. The from this collective responsibility to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It has the capacity to usher in radical, life-saving changes. One way is through the

According to the World Economic Forum, eight industries generate : agriculture, construction, fashion, fast-moving consumer goods (“FMCGs”), electronics, automotive, professional services, and freight. This article discusses the role of fashion in climate change, and more importantly, highlights some textile innovations and organizations demonstrating the core values of circular economies.

Circular Economies: An Overview

A “circular” economy is more than a corporate citizenship buzzword or a . The three key pillars, or goals, supporting circular economic systems are: to. True circular production generates products and materials that can be reused, repaired, or remanufactured, thereby eliminating the concept of “waste” generated through consumer capitalism. These systems emulate what is inherent within nature’s ecological systems, such as and or cycles.

The Case for Fashion

Fashion, and by extension any forms of creative self-expression, potentiate important sociopolitical spaces for and individuals. Fashion can be , and . It can be responsive to or representative of . Fashion coalesces and will continue to so long as culture exists. It is also plain fun to feel good in what you’re wearing and for your clothing to represent you.

The fashion industry has roots across including (pun intended), retail, , , . Remedying the supply chain can , which struggle to fund expensive decarbonization efforts given their low profits relative to high emissions. Consumer-facing industries like fashion generate higher profits per ton of emissions, and thus can pass along decarbonisation costs in .

Along with the benefits of a circular economic system come concerns of and the privilege inherent in purchasing an expensive item upfront. Not to mention, the capacity to make climate-informed decisions further depends on sizing and access inclusivity for all ���ǻ徱���— of the fashion industry. However, many and have demonstrated the power in , , to one of slow fashion. , much of which is spurred by and a culture of consumption (think of TikTok or , hauls, ‘shop with me’ videos, negative associations of wearing something twice, etc.).

While the solution isn’t perfect, as an individual starting point, we can begin to unpack the small ways we as individuals can reassess our spending habits. Some mindfulness questions we can make a habit of asking ourselves are: What about [item] do I like or dislike (e.g., price, fit, colour, material)? Do I have anything similar? Can I get this second-hand? Will this material/style last several seasons? Do I see myself wearing this a few years from now?

Ultimately, structural change from the top-down must also occur to remedy our current climate. Yet investments made towards technological innovation and zero-emissions solutions have already proven to be profitable, sustainable, and . Furthermore, the collective push towards , , business certifications (such as , ), and is extremely promising.

Fashion’s Patented Innovations

I am really looking forward to seeing how the above movements evolve and respond to the coming year ahead. I am also excited about the increased adoption of patented materials and products! The production of synthetic textiles, garment-making, and the supply chain generates . Introducing nature-based solutions in agriculture and textile processing will be key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

, , , and are a few companies building towards a circular economy in an exciting way.

Mycoworks is a San Francisco-based company with a for Fine Mycelium that has developed a called REISHI: a made-to-order, vegan, and biodegradable yet durable leather. Last year, they made headlines with their , whose classic “Victoria” style was remade with Fine Mycelium and named .

AlgiKnit makes patent-pending kelp-based yarns and textiles in New York. Their closed-loop product life cycle allows them to break down end products to be remade into new ones. This seaweed-based yarn allows manufacturers to excise highly toxic chemicals from the treatment process, protecting workers from dangerous and . AlgiKnit produced a , and one can only imagine the streetwear implications this new material could have. Furthermore, the company announced the opening of an , where they will work with global brands to adopt new biotechnological textile innovations.

Lenzing’s TENCEL Lyocell and Modal fibres are fibres originating from responsibly managed forests in Austria. They use a non-woven spinning process that recycles the water and solvents at a rate of more than 99%. These fibres have been certified biodegradable and compostable

ALT TEX, a homegrown Toronto start-up, is a former client of the IP Innovation Clinic at Osgoode Hall Law School. Founders Myra Arshad and Avneet Ghotra have developed a novel bio-polymer technology that re-engineers sugars extracted from food waste into a fibre substitute to , which is made of plastic. ALT TEX’s closed-loop, biodegradable, and carbon neutral textile is a game-changer with the potential to replace polyester entirely, which makes up over 60% of textile manufacturing.

Further Engagement:

Aja Barber’s Consumed, a book on the textile industry’s racist, colonial, and exploitative history, and how to empower yourself by unlearning the mentality of mass consumerism:

Intersectional Environmentalist, a climate justice community centering BIPOC and historically excluded voices:

Social/climate activists Stevie (aka ), Summer Dean ()

Second-hand, Consignment and Thrift stores (to name a few!): , , Facebook Marketplace,

Fashion Impact Fund, supporting women entrepreneurs and the fulfillment of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals:

Ecologi, a climate-positive investment subscription where you can support environmental projects as a business or individual supporter:

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