by providing engineering students with comprehensive start-up support and education to help them develop business skills for launching a successful start-up enterprise. BEST Lab assists with technical elements, such as creating prototypes, to business management and funding elements, such as assisting members in building successful pitches for angel investors and in the creation of a successful business development strategy.

At BEST lab, I was responsible for providing research and information in corporate and intellectual property (IP) law matters to entrepreneurs and start-ups throughout their seed and growth cycles. I have been asked questions regarding corporate structuring, filing patents, inquiries related to IP rights' inventorship, and such. My BEST Lab supervisor , the Associate Director of BEST Lab, has instructed me to create three deliverables: 1) an intellectual property educational presentation for tech start-ups and entrepreneurs, namely "IP 101"; 2) a weekly drop-in session where I provided legal information over Zoom; and 3) a BEST Practices document to guide start-ups with frequently faced IP issues. As I worked on these deliverables, I had to research and collaborate with other lab members, lawyers, and professors. As a result, I learned a lot about the substantive IP law.

Moreover, I have been taught academic knowledge regarding IP and corporate law very theoretically in law school. Though it is essential to learn the foundational black-letter law, laying the foundations for life in practice requires experimental education, where students gain practical experience by taking part in clinical programs, intensives and mooting workshops. The internship at BEST Lab provided me with the hands-on experience that I needed. Through this internship, I gained invaluable insight into the nuances of the solicitor-client relationship. I truly understood what is required of lawyers including their duty of confidentiality, time- management skills, as well as the interpersonal care and support.

Overall, I had an enlightening and rewarding experience with my placement at BEST Lab. I learned so much about the start-ups from legal and business perspectives. Furthermore, I enjoyed working and networking with many tech entrepreneurs and start-up founders with incredibly cutting-edge concepts and inventions. The IP Intensive Program and BEST Lab placement have been incredible learning opportunities for me, and I recommend it to anyone interested in exploring IP and tech law.

Written by Elif Babaoglu, JD Candidate 2021, enrolled in Professors D’Agostino and Vaver 2020/2021 IP & Technology Law Intensive Program at Osgoode Hall Law School. As part of the course requirements, students were asked to write a reflective blog on their internship experience.

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, Founder and Director of IP Osgoode, opened the event by highlighting the ’s success throughout its years in making IP information more accessible and elevating diverse voices in the IP and innovation space. Professor D’Agostino laid out the event agenda, introduced the exceptional team behind the , and the for the Launch Event.

Following Professor D’Agostino’s remarks, , Vice President of Research and Innovation at 91��ɫ, provided land acknowledgements and highlighted 91��ɫ’s commitment to welcoming diverse voices to the academic space. Dr. Asif echoed the importance of making credible IP knowledge more accessible through tools such as the IP Innovation Clinic ChatBot.

, Associate Director at Lab introduced , Co-Founder & CEO of . Nikita’s inspiring story of turning his vision into reality, with the help of the BEST Lab, the IP Osgoode Innovation Clinic, and the Schulich School of Business, is a testament to the remarkable achievements that are possible through collaboration. Nikita, alongside his partner at Skygauge Robotics, , used BEST Lab resources to invent and develop a drone which uses ultra-sound technology to inspect metal structures. aims to provide a safe, efficient, and cost-effective way to inspect metal structures. With the help of the IP Innovation Clinic, Nikita and Skygauge patented their invention.

After Nikita’s presentation, it was time for the demo. The ChatBot was developed through the efforts of , Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Senior Innovation Lawyer at Norton Rose, , JD Candidate and IP Innovation Clinic Coordinator, and at IP Osgoode. Al Hounsell provided a primer on artificial intelligence (AI) and how it can be utilized to deliver legal information to clients, innovators, and entrepreneurs. The can be classified as a rules-and-pattern-based AI system because it derives its baseline system of rules from information fed to it by legal experts. The ChatBot gets “smarter” by identifying patterns in its users’ input. The ChatBot identifies two key components form these patterns: intents and entities. Intents are what the ChatBot users intend to derive from the questions they ask. Entities modify intents in an AI-based system. In the context of the ChatBot, as Ryan demonstrated in the demo, entities can be defined as the alternative ways in which a question can be asked. As a result, the more familiar the ChatBot becomes with different iterations of a question, the more intelligent and competent it becomes.

The final portion of the event was a thoughtful panel discussion moderated by Osgoode Hall Law School about navigating the IP and innovation ecosystem. The came from different sectors in the IP and innovation space. Each one brought a valuable perspective on the pressing IP and innovation issues that Canada and the world face, including economic growth, accessibility, and elevating diverse voices . A common theme running through the panel discussion was the importance of creating an inclusive and accessible environment for Canadian innovators of all backgrounds to flourish; and elevating voices from underserved communities who have been left out of the conversation for too long.

The deepened my understanding of how AI can easily, accessibly, and cost-effectively deliver information to users. Intellectual property assets are often a business’s first and most valuable assets, especially in its early stages. However, many innovators cannot access legal advice about their IP rights so early on in their business. I hope that free and user-friendly tools, such as the , can alleviate some of the barriers that currently halt innovation.

For more information and a full recording of the ChatBot Launch Event, click

Written by Bonnie Hassanzadeh, IPilogue Editor and Clinic Fellow at Osgoode Innovation Clinic.

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