Government of Ontario Launches New Intellectual Property Agency

On March 3, 2022, the Government of Ontario announced the launch of a new board-governed agency, Intellectual Property Ontario. The new agency is meant to serve as a go-to resource of intellectual property (IP) expertise “to help researchers and companies maximize the value of their IP, strengthen their capacity to grow and compete in the global market”.

The creation of Intellectual Property Ontario is an important step in the province’s IP Action Plan first announced in July 2020 and previously reported by the E-TIPS® Newsletter here. The new agency will have up to nine board members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Colleges and Universities.

Intellectual Property Ontario will provide clients across the province with the following services:

• IP educational tools through online courses and curricula;
• Expert advisory services to assist in the development of effective IP strategies and management; and
• Legal expertise to support IP protection.

Some services will be offered through the agency itself, while others through financial supports for clients to leverage industry professionals. It is expected that services will be scaled up and refined based on feedback from clients and other stakeholders.

The Government of Ontario has taken other steps towards achieving its IP Action Plan goals, including providing two foundational IP courses, available online for free through the University of Toronto and the Centre for International Governance Innovation to help innovators understand the value of protecting their ideas. Further the Government of Ontario introduced a Commercialization Mandate Policy Framework to help publicly assisted colleges and universities better commercialize their and products generated through “Ontario-made” research and innovation.

Summary By: Anna Troshchynsky