Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer: Promoting Best Practices

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER: PROMOTING BEST PRACTICES Report of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology Dan Ruimy, Chair NOVEMBER 2017 42nd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION Published under the authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons SPEAKER’S PERMISSION The proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees are hereby made available to provide greater public access. The parliamentary privilege of the House of Commons to control the publication and broadcast of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees is nonetheless reserved. All copyrights therein are also reserved. Reproduction of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduction is accurate and is not presented as official. This permission does not extend to reproduction, distribution or use for commercial purpose of financial gain. Reproduction or use outside this permission or without authorization may be treated as copyright infringement in accordance with the Copyright Act. Authorization may be obtained on written application to the Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons. Reproduction in accordance with this permission does not constitute publication under the authority of the House of Commons. The absolute privilege that applies to the proceedings of the House of Commons does not extend to these permitted reproductions. Where a reproduction includes briefs to a Standing Committee of the House of Commons, authorization for reproduction may be required from the authors in accordance with the Copyright Act. Nothing in this permission abrogates or derogates from the privileges, powers, immunities and rights of the House of Commons and its Committees. For greater certainty, this permission does not affect the prohibition against impeaching or questioning the proceedings of the House of Commons in courts or otherwise. The House of Commons retains the right and privilege to find users in contempt of Parliament if a reproduction or use is not in accordance with this permission. Also available on the House of Commons website at the following address: www.ourcommons.ca INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER: PROMOTING BEST PRACTICES Report of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology Dan Ruimy Chair NOVEMBER 2017 42nd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION NOTICE TO READER Reports from committee presented to the House of Commons Presenting a report to the House is the way a committee makes public its findings and recommendations on a particular topic. Substantive reports on a subject-matter study usually contain a synopsis of the testimony heard, the recommendations made by the committee, as well as the reasons for those recommendations. STANDING COMMITTEE ON INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CHAIR Dan Ruimy VICE-CHAIRS Hon. Maxime Bernier Brian Masse MEMBERS Frank Baylis Alaina Lockhart Jim Eglinski Lloyd Longfield Matt Jeneroux Mary Ng Majid Jowhari Terry Sheehan David Lametti Kate Young OTHER MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO PARTICIPATED Dan Albas Ron McKinnon Chandra Arya Alexander Nuttall Sheri Benson Robert-Falcon Ouellette Fin Donnelly Hon. Michelle Rempel Earl Dreeshen David Sweet Gudie Hutchings Arnold Viersen Emmanuella Lambropoulos Salma Zahid Ron Liepert Bob Zimmer Ben Lobb iii CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE Danielle Widmer LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT Parliamentary Information and Research Service Francis Lord iv THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY has the honour to present its EIGHTH REPORT Pursuant to its mandate under Standing Order 108(2), the Committee has studied intellectual property and technology transfer and has agreed to report the following: v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chair’s foreword ............................................................................................................................................. ix SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER: PROMOTING BEST PRACTICES .................................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 1 CANADIAN TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER .................................................................................... 2 INFORMATION.................................................................................................................................. 7 A. Narrow indicators ............................................................................................................... 7 B. Imperfect information .................................................................................................... 11 BEST PRACTICES .......................................................................................................................... 13 A. Risk ......................................................................................................................................... 14 B. Public funding .................................................................................................................... 18 C. Institutional policies and template agreements ................................................... 20 D. To patent or not to patent ............................................................................................. 24 ENVIRONMENT ............................................................................................................................. 26 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................. 29 LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................ 30 Appendix A: List of witnesses ................................................................................................................. 35 Appendix B: List of briefs ......................................................................................................................... 39 Request for government response ....................................................................................................... 41 vii CHAIR’S FOREWORD Behind all great studies, there is a team of people including experts and individuals who put in time and effort in order to make a difference sharing their own opinions and thoughtful words. These are the people I would like to thank first — each and every contributor who took part in the study on intellectual property and technology transfer. They helped create a solid foundation from which the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology could begin its proposals. Some of the most promising inventions and expertise are being developed in post- secondary institutions, including Canada’s excellent universities, colleges and research hospitals. When industry collaborates with academia, scientific and technological breakthroughs lead to a flourishing economy. And yet, the Committee consistently heard during its 2017 manufacturing study of the difficulty of managing the intellectual property rights and technology transfer. Just as other countries have done, Canada’s technology transfer policies need to evolve if the public is to benefit from the fruits of public and private research. Between May 15 and June 20 2017, our Committee collected over 40 submissions and testimonies. Not only did multiple universities across Canada participate, but so did many expert individuals who presented their own studies. These contributions helped the Committee paint a clearer and easily understandable picture of the challenges and opportunities of Canadian technology transfer. The Committee is proud to present recommendations to the Government of Canada that will help all those who are involved or will be involved with technology transfer and, ultimately, all Canadians. Dan Ruimy, M.P. Chair ix SUMMARY Technology transfer is a highly collaborative and mutually beneficial process. It allows a) private firms to take advantage of academic expertise and publicly funded research; b) post-secondary institutions (PSIs) to generate revenues and disseminate new knowledge; and c) consumers to access new products and services. While PSIs have increased technology transfer activities since 1998, there are still many opportunities for improvement. Current indicators and surveying methodologies do not provide stakeholders with a comprehensive understanding of technology transfer. Parties that might be inclined to engage in technology transfer activities may also lack the information necessary to identify and assess opportunities to do so. Many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs lack the resources and time to engage in technology transfer. The lack of uniform intellectual property (IP) licensing practices at PSIs can also constitute an obstacle to technology transfer. The goal of technology transfer policy should not only be to commercialize academic intellectual property, but also to build the innovative capacities of PSIs, SMEs and entrepreneurs by facilitating collaborative ventures. The aim is to have a significant, positive impact on the Canadian economy. To that end, the Committee recommends, notably, that the Government of

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