Office Hours with Chang Han
2024-05-24 11:00 - 15:30, 2024-05-31 11:00 - 15:30, 2024-06-07 11:00 - 15:30, 2024-06-14 11:00 - 15:30, 2024-06-21 11:00 - 15:30, 2024-06-28 11:00 - 15:30, 2024-07-05 11:00 - 15:30, 2024-07-12 11:00 - 15:30 (America/Los_Angeles) and 16 more dates
Interested in AccelerateIP but not sure which stream suits you best?
Book a time with our IP Executive in Residence and former IP Lawyer, Chang Han, during his virtual Office Hours!
​Whether you have questions about the right program or need guidance on AccelerateIP, Chang is here to help you navigate your options.
​
Please note, this isn’t legal advice but a chance to explore your opportunities within our programs.
Times available for booking on April 5th – times between 11AM to 3:30PM

Register Here!

Intellectual Property Considerations for Science-Based Companies - Partnered Event
2024-05-30 13:00 - 14:30
Join us for an engaging session to help founders of science-based companies understand the importance of Intellectual Property (IP) and the latest on programs that can help support you in this journey.
During this session, we’ll dive into:

IP considerations for science-based companies
The latest on program offerings including IP Assist and Accelerate IP, two federal programs that provide crucial support and subsidies for IP protection.

Guest speaker: Mike Damiani (Partner at BLG; PhD in Biochemistry, SFU, 2012; Patent Agent)
After the presentation, there will be opportunities for short one-on-one meetings. If you would like to schedule a meeting please indicate so when you register, a limited number are available. Meet with:

Mike Damiani
Kamaldeep Sembi (SFU Director of Technology Licensing & IP Legal Counsel)
Mentors from SFU VentureLabs
Mentors from the Charles Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship

Don’t miss this chance to learn the latest on IP programs for science-based companies.
Supported by SFU 4D Labs, Borden Ladner Gervais, SFU TLO, SFU Venture Labs, Charles Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship, and the AccelerateIP program.
Logistics:
Date: Thursday, May 30th
Time: 1:00 – 2:30 PM
Location: SSB 7172 – South Sciences Building
SFU Burnaby
643A Science Road, Burnaby, BC

Register Here!

Intellectual Property for Business Growth
2024-06-25 13:00 - 18:00 | SFU Venture Labs, 555 W Hastings St, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6B 4N6, Canada
​
Join New Ventures BC and Innovate BC on June 25th for a half-day of learning, discussions, and networking alongside industry experts to elevate your company’s intellectual property (IP) strategy.
​Learn more about BC’s IP Strategy here.
Who should attend?
IP for Business Growth is a half-day conference designed for companies and founders that:
– Have an existing understanding of intellectual property and are looking to level up their IP and business strategies.
– ​Have market traction on their business and/or product
– ​Want to network with founders and experts around the topic of IP
Agenda:
1:00pm: Registration
1:30pm: Welcome remarks
1:35pm: Education Session: Moving IP Knowledge In-house with Houston Brown, In-house IP
2:30pm: Company IP Case Studies (companies to be announced shortly)
3:30pm: Panel: How to Monetize IP as your Company Grows, curated by Garibaldi Capital and SFU Venture Labs
4:30pm: Closing Fireside Chat with Hon. Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, and Peter Cowan, CEO, Innovate BC
4:45pm: Networking reception + legal expert office hour sessions
​Stay tuned for more details!
​Can’t make it in person?
​Make sure to register for “Livestream Only” to gain access to the livestream on the day of the event!
​Details:
Date: June 25, 2024
Time: 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Location: SFU Venture Labs (11th Floor Concourse)
555 W Hastings St, 11th floor, Vancouver, BC V6B 4N6

​

​For any questions, please reach out: programs@newventuresbc.com.
​​—
​By signing up for this event, you agree to be added to the NVBC and Innovate BC e-newsletters (you can opt out at anytime). You also agree that any photos taken at events may be used by NVBC and Innovate BC for marketing purposes.

IP Speaker Series: Strategies on Patent Filing Timing
2024-07-24 13:00 - 14:00 | Virtual
Join us for a deep dive on a key startup topic: when to file patent applications. In a casual conversation, we will explore key concepts and strategies that inventors and startups should consider when building a patent portfolio to conserve scarce IP dollars.
​Why This Chat?
​In the tech world, every dollar counts. Hear from some of the leading patent practitioners on strategies they use with their clients to build their portfolios wisely, while still obtaining broad protections. From ensuring utility and disclosure requirements are satisfied to strategic use of provisional, International PCT, divisional, and continuation applications to best practices on claiming priority in foreign jurisdictions, come listen to practical advice every IP-focused startup should know.
​What You’ll Gain:

​Insider Knowledge: Delve into some key concepts around how to best allocate filing dollars and key sector-specific considerations including life science and software applications.
​Real-World Wisdom: Engage with firsthand stories and experiences on how leading technology companies and scale-ups think about filing strategies.
​Practical Takeaways: Discover strategies on how to stretch your IP dollars to ensure you are getting the best return for every IP dollar.
​Community and Q&A: This fireside chat format encourages dialogue. Bring your questions, share your experiences, and learn from peers navigating the same challenges.

​Who Should Join?
​Whether you’re at the seed stage or scaling rapidly, if your startup is navigating the tech ecosystem, this conversation is for you. Founders, tech innovators, and anyone vested in the future of intellectual property in the startup space— gather ’round the fire.
​About the Session:
​This isn’t just another lecture on IP rights; it’s a chance to join a community of like-minded individuals ready to tackle the complexities of IP strategy together. We’re peeling back the layers of legal jargon to reveal the actionable steps you can take to protect your company’s most valuable assets.
​Presenters:
​Joanna Ma – Joanna Ma is an intellectual property (IP) strategist and patent lawyer at Bereskin & Parr LLP. She offers her clients strategic advice on developing and growing IP portfolios that are aligned with their business opportunities and goals. Joanna also assists her clients with commercializing and monetizing these IP rights, and with developing a balanced approach to the enforcement of their IP rights.
​Ainslie Parsons – Ainslie is a partner with Bereskin & Parr LLP and a member of the Life Sciences practice group. Ainslie’s practice focuses on drafting and prosecution of patent applications related to life sciences matters, including biologics, diagnostics, plants and plant technology, biotechnology, food and pharmaceuticals. She also advises on patent issues such as validity, infringement and freedom to operate and has expertise in IP licensing.
​Byron Thom (moderator) – Byron is a lifelong technology enthusiast who has worn many hats in his tech career. Trained as an engineer and a lawyer, he practiced at one of the leading IP boutiques in Canada helping startups and multinationals protect their technological assets. As a startup founder, he is a patented inventor who drafted and prosecuted his company’s own patent applications. And, as a venture capitalist and board member, he often works with his portfolio companies to develop IP strategies to focus their limited resources on key assets that matter to the business, to investors and to potential acquirers. Byron is a Partner at the BDC Industrial Innovation Venture Fund and sits on the Board of Governors at UBC.

Register Here!

IP Speaker Series: Strategies on patent focus
2024-08-14 13:00 - 14:00
Join us for a deep dive on a key startup topic: how to focus your patent application. In a casual conversation, we will explore key concepts and strategies that startups should consider with their lawyers when designing a set of patent claims.
Register on Luma
​Why this chat?
​In the patent world, an issued patent is defined by its set of claims. With limited budgets, there needs to be a clear objective from a patenting strategy. A patent doesn’t give you the right to build or sell your invention, only stop someone else from doing so. The reason for patenting may change your patent filing strategy.
​Hear from a leading patent practitioner on strategies he uses with his clients on how to best focus a set of patent claims. Key considerations will be discussed including how broad to claim (the scope), decisions around market opportunities to work a patent, and the best claim types to match your patent filing strategy. Come listen to practical advice every IP-focused startup should know.
​What you’ll gain:

​Insider Knowledge: Delve into some key concepts around how to focus your patent claims to match your strategy, including key sector-specific considerations for life science and software applications.
​Real-World Wisdom: Engage with firsthand stories and experiences on how leading technology companies and scale-ups think about filing strategies.
​Practical Takeaways: Discover strategies on how to stretch your IP dollars to ensure you are getting the best return for every IP dollar.
​Community and Q&A: This fireside chat format encourages dialogue. Bring your questions, share your experiences, and learn from peers navigating the same challenges.

​Who should join?
​Whether you’re at the seed stage or scaling rapidly, if your startup is navigating the tech ecosystem, this conversation is for you. Founders, tech innovators, and anyone vested in the future of intellectual property in the startup space— gather ’round the fire.
​About the Session:
​This isn’t just another lecture on IP rights; it’s a chance to join a community of like-minded individuals ready to tackle the complexities of IP strategy together. We’re peeling back the layers of legal jargon to reveal the actionable steps you can take to protect your company’s most valuable assets.
Register on Luma
​Presenters
​Roch Ripley
Roch Ripley is a partner at Gowling WLG and the head of the Vancouver office’s Intellectual Property Department. He focuses his practice on providing IP advice, patent drafting and prosecution, and tech commercialization.
​His patent prosecution practice covers multiple tech-related sectors, in particular AI, electronic hardware, firmware/software and clean tech. Roch employs a strategic approach to the procurement and commercialization of IP rights – whether helping SMEs position themselves for investment/acquisition or assisting larger companies establish portfolios that can be asserted offensively or deployed defensively.
He is highly skilled in drafting and obtaining patents and leading IP-related due diligence and negotiations for transactions where IP is a driver. A Registered Patent Agent in the US and Canada, Roch combines his legal background with his degree in electronics engineering to prepare and prosecute patent applications for clients in the US, Europe, Asia and Canada. He frequently assists foreign attorneys file patent and design applications in Canada.
Recognized in IAM Patent 1000, The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, The Best Lawyers in Canada and named an Acritas Star from 2018 to 2020, Roch received the Best Lawyers 2023 Intellectual Property Law “Lawyer of the Year” award in Vancouver.
​Byron Thom (moderator)
Byron is a lifelong technology enthusiast who has worn many hats in his tech career. Trained as an engineer and a lawyer, he practiced at one of the leading IP boutiques in Canada helping startups and multinationals protect their technological assets. As a startup founder, he is a patented inventor who drafted and prosecuted his company’s own patent applications. And, as a venture capitalist and board member, he often works with his portfolio companies to develop IP strategies to focus their limited resources on key assets that matter to the business, to investors and to potential acquirers. Byron is a Partner at the BDC Industrial Innovation Venture Fund and sits on the Board of Governors at UBC.

What is patentable in the software space?
2024-10-03 10:30 - 11:30 | Virtual
Code is copyright and a lot of modern development in software is reliant on open-sourced code/libraries or dependant on API integrations with terms and conditions. Amidst all that, if you’re building a software solution, what then is patentable?
This workshop will look into area of software patents and what can and cannot be protected when it comes to software related inventions. The current state of the law on this topic around the world will be explored and in particular, the treatment of such inventions in Canada, the US and Europe. Different strategies on how to protect software inventions with patents and to increase value for you software company will be discussed.
About the Speaker from DLA Piper (Canada) LLP

Richard Mar, Partner
Richard assists clients with patentability and infringement opinions, drafting licensing agreements, and ‎enforcing intellectual property rights, which includes drafting and prosecuting patent applications and ‎developing a global patent filing strategy for clients in a wide variety of technology areas including computer software and hardware, artificial intelligence, financial technologies (business methods/blockchain), virtualization technology, electrical products and integrated circuits, semiconductor manufacturing equipment and processes, medical devices, and mechanical fields.
He has drafted hundreds of patent applications for ‎clients ranging from sole inventors to large multinational corporations with well-established patent ‎programs. He also has experience in assisting clients with enforcement of their intellectual property rights ‎in Canada and internationally. Richard is also an active member of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC). He is an instructor for ‎IPIC’s Patent Agent Training Course and trains the next generation of patent agents.
This event is hosted in partnership with Tech Yukon.
Please note the event timing is in PDT.
Register Here!

Tech & Toast: A VentureLabs Breakfast Series
2024-10-23 09:30 - 10:30 | SFU Venture Labs, 555 W Hastings St, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6B 4N6, Canada
Tech & Toast: A VentureLabs Breakfast Series, is back on October 23. We welcome Gowling WLG’s Associate, Anika Klassen, to discuss trade secrets. This session will cover how to effectively manage and protect your company’s confidential know-how through every stage of the business lifecycle. Attendees will have a chance to ask questions at the end of the short presentation.
When: October 23rd @ 9:30 – 10:30 AM PST
Where: VentureLabs office, 12th floor kitchen (1200 – 555 W Hastings St, Vancouver)
Who: Science and technology company founders/leaders, AccelerateIP clients
Format: In person – Registration required
The series is a partnership between SFU VentureLabs and AccelerateIP, and includes a light breakfast limited to the first 30 attendees.
About the speaker: Anika Klassen

Anika Klassen is an associate in Gowling WLG’s Vancouver office working in the firm’s Intellectual Property Department and as a member of the Tech Group. Her practice focuses on technology commercial transactions, licensing and commercial contracts.
In particular, Anika advises clients on the acquisition, commercialization and enforcement of intellectual property rights throughout the business lifecycle.
While studying law at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia, Anika participated in the Richards Buell Sutton LLP Business Law Clinic and the UBC Law Review. She also served as President of the Women’s Caucus and Co-President of the Allard Law and Business Society. Before law school, Anika completed her Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University.
About Tech & Toast: A VentureLabs Breakfast Series
We bring the experts, pastries, and coffee to Tech & Toast so that founders can connect and learn from subject matter experts. This monthly in-person event will feature topics like IP, customer discovery, competitor analysis, etc. Join Tech & Toast to connect with other science and tech founders, meet with experts, and gain insights to grow your company.
Register Here!
