Il est temps de promouvoir l'innovation, pour créer des emplois et de la croissance: une lettre du président Wilcox

Le texte ci-dessous est une lettre rédigée par le Président de l’IPIC, Peter Wilcox, publiée dans la dernière édition du journal The Hill Times. Elle constitue une réponse à un article intitulé “It’s time to promote innovation to create jobs and growth”, rédigé par le ministre Scott Brison (Président du Conseil du trésor).

In last week’s Innovation Briefing, Treasury Board President Scott Brison wrote “Canadian innovators and entrepreneurs are looking for a reliable federal partner that will help leverage Canadian know-how to grow the Canadian economy. We want to be that partner.”

On behalf of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, the  Canadian association of patent and trademark agents:  bravo!

Patent and trademark agents, Canada’s innovation professionals, help leverage Canadian know-how to grow businesses, help Canadian universities commercialize their research, and help Canadian entrepreneurs to market around the world.

Unfortunately, the governance framework for patent and trademark agents falls short of what Canadians expect of their professions. However, because patent and trademark agents are among the few professions under federal jurisdiction, the new Government has the opportunity to modernize the framework with simple amendments to the Patent Act and the Trade-marks Act.

Why do so? To help foster a culture of innovation in Canada.

To increase the use of the IP system – a key step in successful innovation – we need to ensure that users have confidence in the system. Entrepreneurs must see that their innovation professionals -the highly skilled patent and trademark agents they call upon to assist them in protecting their intellectual property - are regulated like the other professionals they hire (e.g. engineers, accountants, and lawyers). The profession and the government have taken many steps to build and modernize the IP system but legislation is required to provide the profession with the authority to complete the framework.

Minister Brison also wrote about the government’s interest in bringing changes to the tax system and the SR&ED program to encourage innovation. The Intellectual Property Institute of Canada looks forward to discussing these issues, including the concept of an innovation box, while our members continue to help innovators grow the Canadian economy.

Peter Wilcox est le président de l’IPIC