May 2018 Charity & NFP Law Update
In response to the federal government’s commitment through the 2017 Federal Budget to implement reforms to Canada’s intellectual property (“IP”) system, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development announced the launch of Canada’s Intellectual Property Strategy (the “IP Strategy”) on April 26, 2018. The IP Strategy recognizes that IP helps Canadian innovators attain commercial success and maximize the value of their creations by protecting their ideas, and was designed to “help Canadian entrepreneurs better understand and protect intellectual property…, get better access to shared intellectual property,” and provide businesses with the “information and confidence they need to grow their business and take risks.” In this regard, the IP Strategy states that small and medium-sized businesses that hold formal IP are significantly more likely to engage in product and other innovation, more likely to export, and more likely to be high-growth. As such, the IP Strategy proposes changes in the key areas of legislation, literacy and advice, and tools which are discussed below.
With respect to legislation, the IP Strategy proposes to amend Canadian IP laws to remove barriers to innovation, and in particular to close loopholes for bad faith use of IP, such as trademark squatting and patent trolling. Further, an independent body would be created to oversee patent and trademark agents in order to maintain professional and ethical standards amongst IP professionals.
With respect to literacy and advice, the IP Strategy proposes various educational resources, including the launch of programs through the Canadian Intellectual Property Office to help improve Canadian literacy in IP, providing support to engage with Indigenous people and decision makers, providing support for research activities and capacity building, as well as training federal employees who deal with IP governance.
With regard to tools, the IP Strategy would provide tools to support and educate Canadian businesses about IP, such as the IP Strategy website. Additionally, a “patent collective” will be created to bring businesses together to share expertise and strategy for the purpose of working towards better outcomes for members with regard to IP.
These new measures proposed in the IP Strategy are expected to better facilitate the protection of IP in Canada and will make IP resources available to the public that will be of interest to charities and not-for-profits. In addition to the legislative reforms, charities and not-for-profits should therefore monitor the IP awareness, educational, and strategic growth tools released through the IP Strategy as a means of ensuring that they are protecting and making the best use of their IP.