Tuesday, January 19, 2021 | 2 – 3 p.m. ET | Zoom Meetings

This Ask Me Anything Session, hosted by Innovation Economist, Charles Plant and Intellectual Property Advisor, Alexis Conrad Black, will provide an overview of Canada’s IP landscape, as well as discuss strategies for startups to ensure that their IP helps them win in an increasingly competitive environment.

In order to survive (and thrive!) in the innovation economy, it is vital for companies to see intellectual property differently. Tech startups and scale-ups need to embrace the creation of new forms of IP or they risk stagnating and failing. In this new realm of intellectual property, simply filing patents is no longer enough.

Speakers:

Charles Plant

Charles Plant is a serial entrepreneur, innovation economist, and scale-up advisor. As founder of The Narwhal Project, he is conducting research into what it takes to create world-class technology companies. He has written more than 35 research papers and a book entitled Triggers and Barriers: A Customer Perspective on Innovation. He is currently working on his second book: Unicorn Math: Developing an Algorithm for Rapid Growth. Plant was co-founder and CEO for 15 years of Synamics, a telecommunications software firm. He has been an officer, director or investor in more than a dozen technology companies and worked in investment banking and venture capital. He has worked at MaRS Discovery District, taught in the MBA program at York University’s Schulich School of Business; and taught innovation and entrepreneurship at the University of Toronto. A Chartered Accountant, Plant has an MBA in marketing and is currently pursuing a PhD in Innovation Economics.

Alexis Conrad Black

Alexis Black is an intellectual property advisor with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. An Arts and Business graduate from Western University, Alexis has worked for two national law firms managing technology and intellectual property law marketing and business development portfolios. Prior to working for Canadian law firms, Alexis managed sponsorships and business partnerships for the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce.

Questions? For more information, please contact candace.beres@communitech.ca.

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As we adapt to a new normal, please be advised that our Communitech virtual sessions will be recorded and shared with session participants and Communitech members. They may be used on our Communitech website and social platforms. By attending this session, you consent to being recorded and that your comments may be used at the discretion of Communitech.