The urgent need for critical mass in intellectual property in Quebec and Canada

On August 25, the Conference Board of Canada published a major study on the state of intellectual property in Canada. Its conclusions are clear and thought-provoking: Canada is rich in innovation and intellectual property creation in certain key sectors, but lags behind in several other strategic areas, which weakens the competitiveness of its economy on a global scale. 

Canada excels in sectors such as life sciences, aerospace, and clean technology, but lags behind in digital, telecommunications, and agri-food. 

The main challenge lies in the need to achieve a critical mass of intellectual property (patent portfolio) in various key areas of the economy. In a world where knowledge is strategically important, it is not only knowledge that matters, but also who owns it. 

Today, Canada has on average half as many patents per holder as the global norm and only 49 holders with 100 or more patent families, whereas international comparisons suggest that there should be around 168. This finding highlights not only a weakness, but also a strategic opportunity to act collectively to strengthen our competitiveness. 

There are many promising assets for the future. In the life sciences, Canada ranks fourth in the world for clinical trials. Quebec plays a leading role, accounting for more than 40% of the Canadian biopharmaceutical industry. 

In clean technology, the country contributes to 20% of global carbon capture, utilization, and storage projects. These successes demonstrate the strength of our ecosystem and pave the way for even greater potential if we can better structure our intellectual property. 

For Quebec, which stands out for its centers of excellence in artificial intelligence, life sciences, aerospace, clean technology, and emerging quantum technologies, these findings resonate as an invitation to consolidate and amplify our achievements. 

In other words, achieving critical mass in intellectual property in the growth sectors of our economy is an essential step. This is what will enable us to transform our knowledge into true economic and industrial leadership, in the service of sustainable prosperity and collective well-being. 

With this in mind, several avenues are worth exploring. Among them is developing the capacity to convert inventions (ideas) into innovations (marketable products, processes, know-how, or technologies) on a large scale in priority niches, through the transfer of intellectual property to a licensee (non-profit organizations, companies, or government organizations). 

Institutions could pool some of their so-called “intangible” assets in order to leverage them in a coordinated manner and capitalize on available synergies. Comparable models already exist elsewhere in the world, sometimes on a mandatory basis in strategic sectors linked to national interests. 

Without going that far, Quebec could usefully draw inspiration from these models to adopt a collaborative approach tailored to our reality and needs. 

We commend the Conference Board of Canada for this insightful report. It provides a solid foundation for a necessary debate on the future of innovation in Canada and Quebec. What we need now is a collective effort to transform our islands of innovation into a solid and competitive archipelago capable of shining on the international stage. 

Read the full article in Les Affaires.