PROTECT YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Knowledge is an intangible good. Its worth does not decrease, the more it is in
use. To the contrary; the more it is being used, the more it becomes valuable.

’Universities are much more than the depositories of various knowledge islands. They are neither dictionaries nor databases; they are the ‘know how’ and ‘know why’ institutions in any healthy knowledge economy. Universities dispose of the organizational capabilities to turn information and know-how into commercially valuable products and services: Roya Ghafele (Director, OxFirst)

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Brand Protection in China: Don’t Wait!

The third best-selling sedan in California right now is not Lexus or BMW or Mercedes. It’s an electric car called Tesla. But Tesla was not in the news last month because of its record sales. It was in the news because its expansion plans in China were held back by trademark problems.

A man in Guangdong purchased the Tesla domain name and registered the Tesla trademark in China before Tesla Motors of California bothered to do it. It will likely cost Telsa millions of dollars to buy these intellectual property assets for its Chinese business.

Apple settled for $ 60 million to obtain rights to its iPad brand in China.

Google reportedly paid $1 million for the Google domain name in China several years ago.

All three companies could have reserved their intellectual property in China for less than $500 if they had started sooner. Ouch.

China: Challenges and Opportunities
The problems in China are similar to the land rush that occurred with domain names in the 1990s, when “squatters” bought famous brands and then resold them to brand owners after the brand owners realized that they needed a website. Some may say that these Chinese individuals are acting unethically. In one sense, I agree. On the other hand, they are seizing a business opportunity and making the most of it. And they are not breaking any laws.

In fact, trademark laws in most countries permit the same thing that we’re seeing in China. The difference is that it costs more to register a trademark in most places as compared to China, so squatters are less likely to do it; and brand owners are more likely to be forward thinking in protecting their IP in traditional western markets in Europe, even though—in the back of their minds—they know they need to do something in China.
My point is that you don’t want to be in the next news story.
Several of my clients have already faced trademark problems in China.
Brand protection in China can be challenging. The language is very unfamiliar to most of us. Laws are still being revised. (A revision to the Chinese trademark law was passed last month for the third time since 2000.) Those who are not working with a Chinese business partner may feel lost. Businesses may also think that enforcement of their rights in China is impossible, so why bother even trying.
But as Chinese businesses develop their own brands, enforcement of brand protection for foreign companies continues to improve. Smart business people realize that the challenges can be overcome. They invest a little to get their brand protection in place now. Before someone else does.
But don’t wait. And don’t blame anyone but yourself if your brands are already taken when you get there.
Tips for Brand Owners Entering China
If you’re big enough to enter Chinese market, you should already be thinking about this issue and considering whether you might also register a trademark in China.
Realize that someone in Asia is probably already ahead of you. They’re just waiting to see if you’re big enough to be worth their time.
Commit to investing $ 500 to protect your brand in China. If Tesla, Apple, and Google had done just this much early on, their trademark troubles would not be in the news.
If possible, protect both English and Chinese character versions
Consider registering a China domain name in either regular or Chinese characters, if not both.
Remember that a trademark registration in China is not enough if you are also doing business in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. You must register brands in all four jurisdictions separately.
Look for a Chinese business partner through trade missions or government programs. Sharing some of your profits is worth the benefit of having a knowledgeable local presence.

K&M IP China and Hong Kong trademark attorney

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Your innovation, intellectual property (IP) and technology transfers

“Technology transfer” describes a formal transfer of rights from scientific research to another party in order to use and commercialize new discoveries and innovations resulting from that research. The rights may be intellectual property (IP) in the form of patents, copyright, or other forms of IP, depending on the product of the research. This process includes:

Funded research
Invention disclosure
Patents
Licensing
New startup ventures

Upfront fees, milestone payments and licensing royalties make up most of the returns from technology transfer, but can also be in the form of sponsored research, one-off fees, and equity in the new venture.

Most academic and research institutions have formal technology transfer policies. You should understand the requirements of your institution to determine if you must disclose your invention to the institution or if you can independently commercialize your discovery. If you are related to an institution, check their specific policy.

ACCT Canada (Alliance for Commercialization of Canadian Technologies) is a useful resource on this topic.

Technology transfer offices provide an interface between industry and the institution. In order to liaise effectively with the technology transfer officer, it is important to understand what their function is, how they can help you commercialize your invention or innovation, what they will expect from you as part of the process, and what comprises their success criteria.

Commercializing your innovation: The technology transfer process

The figure below details the role of the technology transfer office at the various stages of development of an innovation as the office goes through the process of selling the raw material (your innovation) and packaging it so that it becomes commercially viable.

In general, the technology transfer process has four phases:

The tech transfer office has a relationship with faculty and researchers and monitors their ongoing research. The tech transfer office may also provide some links to commercial partners to fund ongoing research.
Once the researcher files an invention disclosure with the institution in accordance with the intellectual property policy, the technology transfer office evaluates the strength of the opportunity from an intellectual property and commercial perspective. If there is support for the innovation’s potential, the tech transfer office will pursue a patent application.
Once a patent application is filed, the tech transfer group will begin to actively pursue commercial partners for potential license agreements or other forms of alliances.
Fee, royalties or milestone payments emerging from the successful commercialization of innovations from an institution constitute financial returns for the technology transfer office.While the goal of many tech transfer offices is to become financially self-sufficient, institutions look at a number of other metrics or benefits of their work in addition to revenue generation. These include the:
- Societal benefit of the technology
- Enhancement of the institution’s reputation by the success of researchers
- Success of the tech transfer office as a service for faculty (as measured by the rate of growth in invention disclosures).
There are some institutions that make no claim to revenues from IP developed in their institutions and instead hope that successful entrepreneurs will ultimately make donations to back to the university that supported them. The approach to tech transfer is unique to institutions and is often based on their values and long-term institutional goals.

What you should know when engaging with your technology transfer office

Keep the following in mind when engaging with your technology transfer office:

Understand your institution’s intellectual property policy as well as your obligations.
Ensure that you disclose your invention at the appropriate time.
Make sure to protect your IP by not disclosing it publicly without a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) until provisional patents have been filed. This means no publications in journals or posters at conferences.
Remember that the technology transfer office is your partner in developing a commercialization plan for your innovation. They form a great resource—they can be your link to commercial partners and can help you assess, based on their contacts with industry partners, whether or not the innovation is commercially viable.

Useful links

Alliance for Commercialization of Canadian Technologies
MaRS Innovation
Federal Partners in Technology Transfer
Technology Transfer Tactics
Pharma Licensing
Association for University Technology Managers (AUTM)
Canadian Healthcare Licensing Association (CHLA)
For a definition of technology transfer, see: http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/matters/matters-9404.html

References

Seget, Steven. (2008). Technology Transfer Strategies: Maximizing the returns from new technologies. Business Insights Ltd. Available from http://reutersbusinessinsight.com/report.asp?id=rbhc0217.
Association of University Technology Managers. Retrieved April 19, 2009 from www.autm.net.

RESOURCE CENTRE https://patentechwatch.wordpress.com/

Writing a CV/Resume

FAQs: Strategic consulting projects

What are the objectives of the project?

What do strategic consulting projects involve?

What are the benefits to students?

What support can organisations expect?

What are the organisation’s responsibilities?

How are projects set up?

What about confidentiality and intellectual property?

MARS ENTREPRENEURSHIP 101

Interested in learning more about entrepreneurship? Looking to start a new venture? Look no further!

Entrepreneurship 101 is Canada’s largest live and online entrepreneurship course with over 26,000 people attending in 2012—2013. The course is aimed at technology entrepreneurs and social innovators and covers the fundamentals of starting and building a new venture. Topics include funding your business, marketing, recruiting, intellectual property and more – download our course syllabus and schedule for more information.

The C100

invites top Canadian startups to ninth edition of 48hrs in the Valley

Two-day program offers strategic networking and business development for sixteen of Canada’s most promising technology startups

San Francisco, CA – The C100 thec100.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to bridging Canadian tech entrepreneurs with business opportunities in Silicon Valley, is hosting the next crop of top Canadian technology startups at 48hrs in the Valley. Held from June 16-17, the event gives a select group of Canadian startups unique access to networking, mentoring, and business growth opportunities in Silicon Valley.

In response to the overwhelming popularity of previous 48hrs events, this edition of 48hrs in the Valley represents the first invite-only one. C100 charter members, sponsors, and partners, along with 48hrs alumni, were asked to nominate promising Canadian startups; the top 16 were then invited to the June event.

The participating early-stage startups include B2B and B2C companies ranging from robotics and machine learning technology, to social marketplaces and farm management. Each will participate in two days of mentorship, workshops, investor meetings, strategic partner visits and networking.

A small number of tickets are available to the public for several sessions;

visit http://www.thec100.org/programs/48hrs for registration information

Search Jobs

Medical Device Software Developer

Centre for Imaging Technology Commercialization Toronto and London
Position Summary: Develop software modules for medical imaging.

Responsibilities

Design, Development and Testing

Develop projects to company’s software lifecycle development practices including the use of software application lifecycle management software, test driven development, adherence to coding standards, and quality management practices.
Develop requirements documents through discussions with stakeholders.
Develop software components for medical devices based on existing scientific algorithms (such as image processing and machine learning)
Optimize existing prototypes and demos. Translate from scientific proof-of-concept code to commercial quality code.
Apply in-depth knowledge of product related technologies, technology platforms, architectures, engineering design principles and advancements to software modules.
Identify, report, and take action to correct any quality or compliance concerns.

Maintain organized design files, in digital and/or paper, as per the current procedures.

For more details contact: consultant@oxfaz.org

Bi-lingual Technical Support Representative Job

Date: Aug 13, 2013

Location: Toronto, ON, CA

Title:Bi-lingual Technical Support Representative
ID:JREQ007268DescriptionDate Posted: August 13, 2013Department: ITLocation: 2075 Kennedy Rd, TorontoBi-lingual Technical Support RepresentativePurpose:
To optimize customer experience and satisfaction of Thomson Reuters internal and external clients by providing consistent professional and consultative technical support, ensuring Thomson Reuters Carswell and Les Editions Yvon Blais market growth. Technical Support Representatives will communicate in English. The bilingual (English/French) representative will communicate in French with Thomson Reuter’s customers who choose French as their first or primary language.As part of the Customer Support team’s Technical Support Helpdesk, this position will focus on providing our customers with technical support for Thomson Reuters-Carswell-Les Editions Yvon Blais print, electronic and CDROM products. The Technical Support Representative will respond to external customers and Thomson Reuter’s staff for product related issues as well as coordinating issue resolution with customer and/or Thomson Reuters technical personnel. Coverage may require Technical Support representatives to work shifts, weekends or home base office. The Technical Support Representative will also provide back-up support for research and content-related issues.

Purpose:
To optimize customer experience and satisfaction of Thomson Reuters internal and external clients by providing consistent professional and consultative technical support, ensuring Thomson Reuters Carswell and Les Editions Yvon Blais market growth. Technical Support Representatives will communicate in English. The bilingual (English/French) representative will communicate in French with Thomson Reuter’s customers who choose French as their first or primary language.

As part of the Customer Support team’s Technical Support Helpdesk, this position will focus on providing our customers with technical support for Thomson Reuters-Carswell-Les Editions Yvon Blais print, electronic and CDROM products. The Technical Support Representative will respond to external customers and Thomson Reuter’s staff for product related issues as well as coordinating issue resolution with customer and/or Thomson Reuters technical personnel. Coverage may require Technical Support representatives to work shifts, weekends or home base office. The Technical Support Representative will also provide back-up support for research and content-related issues.

Request more info: consultant@oxfaz.org

Location: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada





Posted Position Title:	FMP
Career Level:	EL
Function:	Finance
Function Segment:	Leadership Programs
Location:	Canada
U.S. State, China or Canada Provinces:	Ontario
City:	Mississauga
Postal Code:	L5N 5P9
Relocation Assistance:	No
Role Summary/Purpose:	Develop exceptional financial and leadership skills through a combination of challenging job assignments, courses, and interactive seminars. Join one of the “World’s Most Admired Companies” (Fortune, 2009) in a world-class leadership development program. At GE, Finance is a key player and a strategic business partner, and the Financial Management Program (FMP) is the foundation for financial leadership development at GE.
Essential Responsibilities:	An intensive two-year program spanning four rotational assignments in different GE businesses, gaining a solid grounding in finance through exposure to a variety of challenging experiences. Rotational assignments are generally located in southern Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta. Program participants must be geographically mobile and flexible; Hands-on experience may include responsibilities and project work in such areas as accounting, financial planning & analysis, operations analysis, sales & marketing analysis, and Six Sigma quality, and involve interaction with high-level management, as well as exposure to other functions;


Posted Position Title:	Risk Management Leadership Program
Career Level:	EL
Function:	Risk Management
Function Segment:	Leadership Programs
Location:	Canada
U.S. State, China or Canada Provinces:	Ontario
City:	Mississauga
Postal Code:	L5N 5P9
Relocation Assistance:	No
Role Summary/Purpose:	GE’s risk management professionals have diverse responsibilities depending on their roles and the businesses in which they work. But in all cases, they directly impact our financial health. When you join GE’s RMP, you’ll work under the guidance of senior risk managers with expertise in consumer and commercial underwriting, portfolio management and analytics. Program participants must be geographically mobile and flexible.
Essential Responsibilities:	Evaluate credit applications; Interpret financial statements; Structure financial transactions; Manage portfolios. REQUEST MORE INFO EMAIL TO: Consultant@oxfaz.org