Creating the Right Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada

Think tank emphasizes 'made-for-Canada' as opposed to 'made-in-Canada'

David Lametti, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, speaks during question period on Parliament Hill on Feb. 24, 2017, in Ottawa. The former McGill law professor is a specialist in intellectual property and is leading the Canadian government’s efforts to formulate a new IP strategy. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

The devil’s in the details for the federal government’s new intellectual property (IP) strategy, announced in its 2017 budget, but tying it to the Liberals’ ambitious innovation agenda should lead to significant improvements in an area Canada lags.

“If that tie holds and innovation is going to be the watchword for the evolution of government policy, then we should see a tendency toward stronger [IP] rights rather than the grudging ‘incrementalism,’” says Richard Owens in a phone interview. Owens, one of Canada’s foremost business lawyers, recently authored three research papers on IP for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute (MLI), a public policy think tank.

IP consists of ideas, concepts, or plans for which the rights of the creator can be legally protected through patents, trademarks, and copyrights. Everything that is built—from software to cars—originates from IP.

“The strategic use of intellectual property by Canadian firms is fundamental to our government’s innovation goals for Canada,” says David Lametti, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, in remarks on an MLI panel on June 15.

It makes it sound like there's very sound public policy when you say a 'made-in-Canada' solution.

— Barry Sookman, senior partner, McCarthy Tétrault