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Insights

June 02, 2023

ARTICLE

Funding for IP strategy and protection for Canadian companies

Did you know that intangible assets, including intellectual property, likely account for up to 90 per cent of your company’s total assets?

Do you struggle with finding budget and resources to invest in protecting your company’s IP and data?

Funding is available to Canadian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for IP and IP strategy development. Some of the more common funding sources are outlined below.

The IP Assist program, from the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), can be provided directly via an Industrial Technology Advisor (ITA), via a regional innovation centre (RIC), or via the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC). The IP Ontario funding window is currently closed, and is scheduled to reopen in late 2023, possibly with different parameters.

Funding Source

Eligibility

Amount Available

IP Assist
(via NRC IRAP, IPIC or RICs)
  • Covers IP strategy, not protection.
  • Includes IP strategy development, patentability and landscape searches, review of IP aspects of contracts and agreements.

Up to $10k for Level 2 via IRAP, or $18k via IPIC/RIC. Up to $20k for Level 3 via IRAP. (Paid by company and 80 per cent reimbursed if via ITA, or paid directly by IPIC/RIC.)

(Also $1k for Level 1 education component.)

Innovation Asset Collective (IAC)
  • Data-driven cleantech companies
  • Associate membership: free for early-stage start-up organizations (must have fewer than 25 employees and less than $500k annual revenue)
  • Full membership: SMEs at start-up or scale-up phase of growth (and fewer than 500 employees)

$15k full membership fee = $15k in IP spend credits.

Additional funds available to distribute to successful applicants ($100k bi-annually for associate, $200k quarterly for full), plus women in IP grants.

Additional supports including patent landscape reports and education available to member companies.

Intellectual Property Ontario (IPON)
(Funding window currently closed. Scheduled to re-open in late 2023, possibly with different parameters.)
  • AI, automotive, MedTech companies
  • Company has some IP, and commits to protecting IP
  • Data-driven cleantech companies
  • Covers IP audits, strategy, protection (e.g. patent/TM filings)

 

Up to $25k

Additional supports and mentoring available to funded companies, including IP education and IP intelligence.

Our team has worked with these organizations and the companies they serve to provide holistic, value-driven and proactive IP strategy services that are co-created to reduce business risk and support strategic growth, while increasing cost certainty and peace of mind.

There are also other existing and forthcoming programs including ElevateIP, which may provide eligible funding to directly or indirectly assist in funding IP strategy/protection.

Please contact our BLG IP team, including our IP Strategy team, for help in determining how to best leverage available IP funding in a way that fits your company’s current business strategy. We can also provide details on other funding in addition to the common sources in the table above.

For further program details, consult the links below:

Key Contacts