ISS Intellectual Property Workshop

Workshop Overview:

The ISS Program is proud to present a workshop on intellectual property from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) and the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada.  CIPO is responsible registering patents, trade-marks, copyrights, industrial designs and integrated circuit topographies in Canada.  Their accomplished IP leaders will introduce the Canadian IP system and raise awareness of IP by introducing basic concepts such as

• the importance and strategic use of IP;
• an introduction to trade secrets, patents, trade-marks, copyrights and industrial designs;
• useful resources and tips;
• links to IP publications and on-line tools; and
• contact information.

Mr .  Christian Cawthorn will be delivering the presentation called "IP: What's in it for you?" followed by the delivery of the Samatha Chang Case Study outlined below.

Participants will also have the chance to explore and apply issues in IP by participating in a case study with an experienced discussion leader.   The case study (see below) will cover:

• Value of trade-marks and patents and of trade secrets
• Types of IP 
• Defining and protecting a new discovery
• Disclosure
• Criteria for patentability
• Value of information found in IP databases
• IP ownership

Students are expected to read the case and information provided to them before the session. 

To register, click here

Case Study

Example of Case covered in 2013 workshop:

Samantha Chang: Who Owns the Invention?

Just after she turned 18 and before starting classes at Provincial Technical University (PTU), Samantha Chang got a summer job in the PTU engineering research lab. She works in the laboratory of Professor John Milbourne. Samantha's status is unclear as the professor pays a small monthly stipend out of a miscellaneous research account for work delivered.

That summer Professor Milbourne's lab was puzzling out a quality control problem faced by a client, AutoPartsCo. As part of this project, Samantha develops and implements an idea worth thousands of dollars to the client company. The client wants to file a patent on the idea.

Sample questions

•     What rights does Samantha Chang have regarding her idea?
•     Is Samantha's idea patentable since it uses existing technology?
•     What rights does the company, AutoPartsCo, have in relation to the invention?

Topics covered

• Inventor/patent owner distinction 
• Policies governing intellectual property in universities
• Public disclosure
• Trade secrets