ISED Canada Announces Patent Collective Pilot Program

On February 13, 2019, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISEDC) announced the Patent Collective Pilot Program (Patent Collective) to help small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) with their patent and intellectual property (IP) needs.

The objectives of the Patent Collective are to help Canadian SMEs leverage IP in their business and to also provide the Government of Canada with insight to better support SMEs in this regard. Canadian entities that can gather a team with experience in delivering high-quality patent advice and that are interested in administering the Patent Collective are invited to apply.  The successful applicant will be required to incorporate a not-for-profit corporation pursuant to the Canada Not-For-Profit Corporations Act which will become the recipient eligible to receive funding pursuant to the program.

The Government of Canada, in soliciting applications, is seeking input from entities to determine how the Patent Collective can be best structured to achieve the program's objectives. The chosen applicant will receive $30 million in funding over four years to create a non-profit organization that will work with companies in a selected sector to help them use their IP more strategically.

Applications may be submitted to ISEDC until March 15, 2019.

For more information please see the Government of Canada website.

Summary By: Jae Morris