Document Type

Report

Publication Date

11-20-2021

Keywords

IP networks, mentors, mentorship

Abstract

In 2018 the Government of Canada (Industry, Science and Economic Development Canada) launched its National IP Strategy with a view to helping “Canadian businesses, creators, entrepreneurs and innovators understand, protect and access intellectual property (IP)” 1 Among its many policy initiatives, it identified the underrepresentation of women and womenidentifying2 and Indigenous entrepreneurs in the IP system as areas of concern.3 Encouraging greater success for these and other excluded groups necessarily means facilitating greater participation in generating, protecting and strategically leveraging their IP. In 2020, the Innovation Asset Collective (IAC), which was established pursuant to the National IP Strategy, issued a Call for Proposals to launch a study of women and IP in the data-driven clean tech (DDCT) sector. In 2021, the University of Windsor was selected to conduct this study (the “IAC Study”).

The mandate of this study is to engage in a consultation process to better understand women’s experiences in navigating the IP system and, pursuant to the findings of the consultation, to develop and implement specialized education and support initiatives for IAC members in the data-driven clean tech (DDCT) sector.

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