2001 to 2016: IPIC Builds the Capacity to Achieve its Ambitions

For my contribution to the IPIC centennial celebrations, I chose to summarize how the Institute built the capacity to achieve its ambitions during the 15 years following its 75th anniversary. It did so primarily in three areas of activity: professional development, advocacy, and communications.

Let's begin with some background. I was Executive Director from 2001 to 2015, and, after a short break, I worked on a contract basis on advocacy matters until Adam Kingsley's arrival at the end of 2016; Anne-Josée Delcorde served as Interim Executive Director during this transition.

At the beginning of the century, the committees were well established, we were three employees, and Council had clearly defined goals. However, the means to achieve these objectives still needed to be developed.

Professional Development

In 2001, IPIC was already offering exam practice sessions and summer courses in collaboration with McGill University. Council wanted to create a training course for patent agents. We therefore took an important step to achieve our ambitions: hiring Anne-Josée as the first Director of Professional Development. This strategic decision assumed that her salary would be covered by the revenue generated; it was.

Thus, the training courses for patent agents and for trademark agents were created through the work of Anne-Josée, highly active volunteer committees, and members who were ready to contribute to the development of future members of the profession.

During Anne-Josée's maternity leave, Kim Arial was hired to replace her. Upon Anne-Josée’s return, Kim remained on staff to continue expanding the education offerings and strengthening the Annual and Spring Meetings. Among other accomplishments, I recall the recording for CPAC of a debate on the patenting of higher life forms at one of the Spring Meetings.

Speaking of the Spring Meeting, here’s a case study that could be included in a curriculum on association management. It’s not easy for an association to discontinue an activity that has become part of its traditions. But offering two major conferences a year required a great deal of energy for an organization the size of IPIC. Council therefore decided to discontinue the Spring Meeting and redirect staff and volunteer time toward creating IPIC’s first webinars. This approach to delivering training was still relatively new in the world of associations. As they say, “and the rest is history.” Thanks to the efforts of the volunteers, Anne-Josée and Kim, the webinars allowed IPIC to offer more training to more members than was possible with an annual conference in Ottawa.

Advocacy

Before I arrived, IPIC had clearly identified the need for legislation regarding client-agent communications privilege and the creation of a regulatory body for the profession. Obviously, the adoption of these laws took much longer than anticipated at the time.

First, we had to get organized. I remember, when it came time for me to register as a lobbyist, Council debated whether we were a lobbying organization. Then, we had to advocate for amendments or legislation with very few precedents at the federal level. We also had to overcome external opposition and finally respond in detail to numerous consultations.

But for the first time in IPIC’s history, paid staff would be engaging with the government. And we called upon experts to help us with various aspects of these projects, particularly Impact Public Affairs.

Building the capacity to achieve our ambitions allowed IPIC to amplify the work of its volunteers with, for example, presentations to parliamentary committees, meetings with advisors to ministers and to the Prime Minister, and press conferences on Parliament Hill. We even organized campaigns where members met with their MPs.

But what I remember most is that the process itself was as important as achieving these objectives. By developing our advocacy framework, we extended our representation beyond CIPO to numerous government departments, Members of Parliament, Senators, and provincial governments. This established IPIC as a credible IP resource and enabled us to address a wide range of issues affecting our members and their clients. Dozens of briefs were produced during this period through countless hours of volunteer work within the committees and Council.

Communications

Most IPIC members are also members of other organizations, such as international IP associations or associations of lawyers or engineers. While today most communications are electronic, back then they were on paper. And our publications didn't compare very well to those of these other (larger) organizations, even though our activities were just as professional.

So, by working with the firm TD Graham & Associates, we modernized the promotional brochures and the Bulletin. These changes had a positive impact on how our members perceived the association. Incidentally, Robyn O'Neill was with TD Graham & Associates before I joined and is now an IPIC employee, making her the longest-serving non-volunteer at the Institute. I also want to mention Toni Gosson, who was there before me and who continued to work behind the scenes for IPIC members for many years.

Eventually, email was added to our communication tools. The hiring of Véronique Coch as our first communications officer (later director) during this period greatly contributed to giving us the resources to achieve our objectives.

As I mentioned above, regarding advocacy for a regulatory body, the journey was as important as the destination. The impact on communications with members is a good example of this.

Such a change in the profession meant not only explaining it clearly but also soliciting member feedback. We therefore began combining meetings of the Informals (which already existed) with Council meetings to facilitate the exchange of ideas with members from different regions. Then we created the President's annual tour. And we offered webinars about the proposed regulatory body. Creating these opportunities for dialogue with members has been an important step in IPIC’s development.

The Value of People

Over the years, we grew from three to eight employees. As I write this, I have wonderful memories of a great team. I must also mention the foresight of Council over the years, which we still see today, in maintaining staff stability.

This leads me to conclude by emphasizing that IPIC’s Councils have not only been ambitious but have always been composed of people dedicated to the Institute, to creating value for members, and to improving the IP system in Canada.

I have had the pleasure of working closely with Council members, with several committee members, with past presidents whose commitment has never wavered, and especially with the presidents of the 2001-2016 period. It has been a true privilege.

Michel Gérin, Honorary Member