On the path to commercialization, many stakeholders ask about your company’s intellectual property (IP) strategy – investors, strategic partners, and even funding organizations. But the IP strategy for natural products and processes can be particularly tricky to navigate. In this session, we heard practical strategies and insights from IP expert, Noel Courage of Bereskin Parr. We also welcomed Shelley Hessian of Springboard Atlantic, who told us how to access free IP resources through Canada’s Elevate IP program. 

This session helped in:

• Gaining awareness of the challenges and potential barriers to patenting a biobased or nature-derived innovation 
• Filling in knowledge gaps around IP strategies for trade secrets, patents, and trademarks 
• Identifying product and process developments that may justify patenting versus keeping a trade secret 
• Learning how to access IP resources through the new national program, Elevate IP