Hello, everyone. It's an honour for me to be here.
My name is Pina D'Agostino, and I am a law professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, for the last 17 years. I specialize in IP, emerging tech, and innovation law and policy. I have researched, published, taught and advised multiple levels of government, and I have been cited by our Supreme Court of Canada.
I felt passionate enough about these issues that, 13 years ago, I founded the first pro bono legal clinic of its kind in Canada, the IP Innovation Clinic, where I have subsidized over $2 million in legal fees, which would have otherwise been billable, to help disenfranchised entrepreneurs start up their businesses. That has has lead to many success stories and jobs created in Canada.
Beyond academia, I have experience as a corporate lawyer working with entrepreneurs, and I serve on the board of directors of Ontario's homegrown Alectra, which is the second-largest municipally owned energy distribution company in North America. I have observed many of the challenges Canadian businesses face and the crucial role that IP plays and should play in the commercialization process. Here, I also note the crucial role of data.
We have blossoming talent and creativity in Canada. Canada boasts a proven track record across all areas of science and tech with leading Nobels, industries and, more recently, artificial intelligence.
To learn from history, Banting and Best discovered insulin in Ontario, but this life-saving compound was not commercialized here. Today, it's a multi-billion dollar industry. This was a missed opportunity not be be repeated. We can and should be doing so much better.
IP is frequently not properly diagnosed, protected or exploited. A serious challenge lies in the commercialization of this talent and creativity. From an IP perspective, developing IP strategies at every level, from nascent to enterprise companies, is key. IP is the new global currency to foster innovation.
All too often, without the security of IP protection, investors will not spend the money to build businesses and to make local talent blossom. Here, we face various challenges and opportunities. I will note just some.
First, universities are the hub of innovation, and they are well poised to solve today's big problems. However, most academics are not trained entrepreneurs. They need to be educated about IP and require expert support from day zero. The average research-intensive university is trying its very best with its scant resources but remains under-resourced and is left with siloed institutional approaches.
Second, tech-transfer personnel are the gatekeepers, but they often have limited industrial experience and knowledge in IP and they lack the financial resources to support IP. Either they don't adequately recognize that there is valuable IP to be protected when a scientist says, “Eureka!”, or they protect the invention by filing a patent. However, because of institutional policies and financial constraints, there is a mandate that, in order for the patent to keep progressing, a licensing deal needs to be in place within a year. This results in missed opportunities.
In biomedical science for instance, stem cells, which is another groundbreaking Canadian invention, has added the burden of conducting preclinical studies for proof of principle. This arbitrary one-year deadline means that valuable patents can be dropped too early. This can all be fixed by changing an institution's practices and investing in commercialization. Note, however, that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. For other sectors, a one-year policy might suffice, for instance in the case of software, thus we need a sector-specific institutional approach. We need to ask what the best IP strategy per sector, per innovation is.
Of course, hiring the most qualified tech-transfer personnel, making investments and paying for the brightest minds can go a long way. In Ontario, the provincial government's IPON has recently put out a call to assist at the tech transfer level. More such help is needed.
Third, we must be committed to a made-in-Canada solution. We need to have a cultural shift and to be risk-takers, while at the same time, we need to have a longer-term business plan. This means not seeking the fastest route once the IP is secured and offloading it. This comes at a cost, since the IP and the future IP, the follow-on IP, likely ends up in the U.S. Insulin is a case in point.
Fourth, and in closing, as tempting as it is for me, as a lawyer, to say that we need to change the law, to make commercialization a success, the entire socio-economic system needs have attention. This is why I applaud you today for convening this study.
Again, we need a sector-specific approach, starting with inculcating and rewarding a culture of innovation, embedding sound institutional policies and practices at every level, and fostering a society that is more inclusive and attuned to under-represented communities sidelined by the innovation ecosystem for far too long. Here, two communities that my work is concerned with are women and indigenous communities.
I thank you for your time and look forward to your comments and questions.