Alberta is staking a claim in the IP economy by helping Alberta innovators protect and commercialize their ideas, to create new Alberta-owned companies, more jobs and economic growth. Alberta is home to world-class researchers and innovators. But too often, the ideas they create end up owned by companies in other jurisdictions, generating jobs and opportunities outside of Alberta.
“Alberta has world-class researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators, but too often we give our IP away to other jurisdictions. The Alberta IP Office will help ensure that when great ideas are developed here, the IP is created, protected and commercialized here. That means Alberta-owned IP, Alberta companies, Alberta jobs and a stronger, more diversified economy.”
Under Alberta Innovates, the Alberta IP Office will serve as a dedicated IP hub for Alberta’s innovation ecosystem, filling a critical gap that is currently not being addressed. The Alberta IP Office will provide leadership, expertise and support across the IP life cycle to turn Alberta-made innovations into commercial products, new ventures and sustained economic growth.
“The Alberta IP Office is another step we are taking in our commitment to make Alberta the best place to build and scale IP-rich companies. We look forward to engaging our community of post-secondary institutions, founders, investors and inventors to design and deliver a high-impact suite of resources to further the positive impact of technology and innovation on the economy and further economic diversification to better the lives of Albertans.”
Alberta has significant research strengths across many key sectors, including artificial intelligence and quantum computing, energy transition, agriculture, health sciences and advanced materials. While Alberta excels at research-driven innovation, gaps in fundamental IP awareness, protection and commercialization have limited the translation of those ideas into economic benefits for Alberta. The Alberta IP Office is designed to address these gaps by building IP capability across Alberta’s innovation ecosystem and turning our innovation strengths to economic returns.
“CCI has long called for the Alberta government to pursue the value-added policies that support domestic companies in retaining, controlling and commercializing intangible assets like patents, trade secrets and data – an increasingly valuable commodity in the AI age. Strong intellectual property policy is key to prosperity in the 21st century, and we are pleased to see the province is taking the step of ensuring Alberta tax dollars support protecting and commercializing homegrown ideas right here in the province.”
The Alberta IP Office will be governed by a board of directors and its operations informed by guidance from nationally and internationally recognized IP experts.
Quick facts
- Globally, IP-intensive industries generate 41 per cent of U.S. GDP and 44 per cent of U.S. jobs, with 60 per cent of the workforce engaged as knowledge workers.
- From 2017 to 2019, only 1.1 per cent of businesses in Canada filed patents, far below the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development average of 5.9 per cent for 2016.
- More than 40 per cent of Canadian inventions are owned by foreign firms, with little commercialization activity occurring in Canada.
- Alberta’s government has allocated $8 million to the Alberta IP Office to deliver programs and services that support innovators.
- The Alberta IP Office will work across the province’s innovation ecosystem—with entrepreneurs and researchers, post-secondary institutions and technology transfer offices, and embed IP strategy into public funding programs.
- The Alberta IP Office will provide Alberta-wide IP intelligence, including exploring data and patent pooling, to strengthen sector-specific opportunities and specialized expertise, such as legal supports, and market analysis.