According to a recent University Affairs article, as research ramps up due to COVID-19, some researchers say we need to do better to keep the knowledge and develop the downstream products here in Canada.
The article suggests we could do better to protect our IP. “We need to be smarter in how we engage with investors,” says Professor Myra Tawfik. She continues to say that governments need laws and policies to help Canadians retain and defend their patents.
“Maybe we could never produce a vaccine on our own. Maybe that’s something to give up on,” says Professor Tawfik. "But Canadians could secure strong patents on, say, personal protective equipment innovations, get products to market and even manufacture them here."
“We need to see how IP could play a strategic role to benefit the economy,” she says. “If we don’t zoom in on that, we’re missing out on an essential feature of the 21st-century economy.”
Read the full story on the University Affairs website.