Earlier today, I had the pleasure of speaking with members of the business community at the Mississauga Board of Trade on the topic of the value of IP Strategy for small to mid-sized business (SMEs).
When I pointed out that Canada has one of the lowest resident filing rates of IP in the industrialized world, the audience seemed quite interested to find out what we can be done to increase our global competitiveness. My message was two fold: FAMILIARIZE and APPLY.
- FAMILIARIZE: Businesses need to familiarize themselves with the various IP tools available to them and understand the key differences between them. The Canadian Intellectual Property Office has a great primer on IP, as does the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
- APPLY: Once armed with the basics of IP, businesses need to apply that knowledge to identify their IP assets and consider how they can be leveraged to increase their revenue, reputation, and competitiveness. You can do this yourself, or you can consult with an IP expert in the field who can help you avoid any potential pitfalls in the process. Our firm offers IP audits to help businesses navigate this process as efficiently as possible.
Too often, businesses who leave their IP Strategy as an afterthought, quickly learn the lesson that being proactive with IP would have been far more cost effective than being reactive.
So, no matter what stage your business is at, whether startup, established or somewhere in between, it is never too late to develop (or modify) your IP strategy.
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