IP program for entrepreneurs

OwnershIP by Innovation Factory

Secure your intellectual property. Own your innovation.

Learn with OwnershIP by Innovation Factory. Two entrepreneurs looking over intellectual property and legal documents on their desk as they have a discussion.

How you will learn with OwnershIP

In OwnershIP you will be able to participate in live and virtual workshops, on-demand training, legal counselling, and personalized resources and tools to navigate your way through the ever-changing IP landscape.

On-demand learning on Academy

Academy at Innovation Factory hosts a variety of on-demand content to assist you through your intellectual property journey. Learners will gain access to curated content that is delivered by legal professionals at Smart & Biggar and Gowling WLG. You will learn firsthand from leading professionals on how to access and secure IP.

Intellectual Property Foundations

Intellectual Property Protection Toolkit
Intellectual Property Protection by Business Function
Intellectual Property Protection by Business Stage

IP Assist - OwnershIP

Corporate Law Essentials, with Gowling WLG
Patent Basics, with Gowling WLG
Intellectual Property for Cloud Computing with Smart & Biggar
Intellectual Property Issues in Cloud Computing, with Smart & Biggar
Novelty in Patents with Smart & Biggar
What's New? Novelty in Patents, with Smart & Biggar
Patents vs. Trade Secrets, with Smart & Biggar
Public Disclosure of Inventions, with Smart & Biggar
Introduction to Intellectual Property Strategy, with Smart & Biggar
FTO for Patents, with Smart & Biggar
FTO for Patents, with Smart & Biggar
Trademark Basics, presented by Gowling WLG. Learn with OwnershIP by Innovation Factory. Photo of a wooden gavel next to a red registration symbol, circle around letter R.
Trademark Basics, by Gowling WLG

Your personalized IP journey

When you enter the OwnershIP Program, you can expect to receive a concierge service. We will look at your current business and technology stage of development, your short and long-term scaling goals, and your current practices and development of IP in your business. Based on these insights about your business, we will guide you through a structured roadmap to help you identify, develop and refine your intellectual property. By the end of your IP journey with OwnershIP you will:

  1. Have a higher degree of education and comfort with key IP tools such as patents, trademarks, copyright, licensing, and trade secretes.
  2. Be able to clearly identify areas of your business where IP is made and what needs to be protected.
  3. Be equipped to take the next steps needed for IP security as well as the areas of opportunity with government, innovation and funding support.

Based on your business’ stage, OwnershIP can offer a variety of governmental support through IP Assist, IPON, and Elevate IP (details on the Program page) and unlock key sources of funds and essential resources you need to grow, scale, and safeguard your IP. Below is a general guide of what to expect from your personalized IP journey.

Guidance and support

When you are just starting out with your IP journey, it is important to take a moment and review your business to date and identify the gaps in both IP protection and knowledge. During this phase of development, OwnershIP provides you with on-demand e-learning content curated by our legal partners Smart & Biggar and Gowling WLG. This learning is essential as you will gain an understanding of key intellectual property tools that are available to you and your business and how each one of these tools is applied to secure your IP. 

Armed with education and awareness of your own business and being able to comfortably identify the gaps in your IP and identify which IP tool is best to bridge any gap is vital for your business. Don’t worry if this sounds daunting, through the OwnershIP Program we provide guidance and support to walk you through the self assessment and tool research and help prepare you for your next level of IP development.

Support to expect: IP Playbook, GAP Analysis, GAP-to-Risk Scorecard, Strategic Action Plan, Academy Online Learning.

Legal services

Once you have a solid foundation of education, awareness, and developed critical analysis of your business’ IP readiness, OwnershIP provides free-of-charge legal council consultations through office hours and a 1:1 strategic review meeting. The goal is to stress test your IP best practices today and refine your IP strategy for the future. Your IP and business risk is evaluated, quantified, and strategies are refined to bridge your gaps in a wholistic view with legal council guidance.

Support to expect: GAP-to-Risk Scorecard, Strategic Action Plan, Legal Council.

Funding

Now that you have your strategic action plan developed, its time to put it play. When ready, you will be able to unlock up to $40,000 dollars of funding for legal council to begin working on securing your IP. This can be in the form of a competitive analysis scan, FTO clearance search, patent paperwork preparation, trademark services, and a host of other IP developments up to the point of file. Please note filing fees are not guaranteed to be covered by funding made available and will be the responsibility of you to file the IP you want to protect. There are some instances where funding will cover some up to all the filing fees (sector specific).

Support to expect: Government Funding, Legal Council.  

Apply to OwnershIP

The OwnershIP program is currently accepting applications from innovative, tech-focused, Canadian start-ups and growing companies.

Enroll in OwnershIP to understand where your business makes intellectual property and how to leverage your IP to drive investment and sales, free from competition. 

Questions?

Do you have questions regarding our program or whether it is right for your business? Send us a message and we can arrange a time to meet with you!

Important Update for OwnershIP Funding

Important Update!

OwnershIP is still accepting applications for the remainder of the year and are working closely with federal and provincial funding bodies investing in intellectual property development for startups and small and medium organizations.

Please note that funding has been competitive and is close to being at capacity for this year, however, new applications will be reviewed and placed in a queue system with approved projects anticipated to be funded as of April 2025