a) 2021 Economic Reality of Climate Tech in view of IP and Data

and a hotbed for Canadian entrepreneurs in cleantech innovation. Cleantech overlaps with many industries and generates opportunities to disrupt the market in climate change mitigation technologies (CCMT), applied material, green chemistries, green technologies, electric vehicles, low carbon and net zero buildings, recycling and renewable technologies, and photovoltaic energy sectors. At the Conference, Leah Lawrence quoted that Cleantech is outpacing other industries, including the artificial intelligence sector. In Ontario, the electric power generation, transmission and distribution sector, inclusive of new cleantech energy storage companies, such as NRStor and Hydrostor, has seen a . However, it is captivating that the growth of these sectors largely relies upon the collection of datasets. The term “data” is omnipresent in patent claims across sectors, globally and in Canada. A clean tech company, Semios, has created a crop harvest remote control which assesses and optimises bugs’ and insects’ responses, diseases, and plant health conditions in actual time through data collection and predictive analysis. It disrupts and eliminates insect pheromone mating using wireless networks in the most difficult of plantation environments. This project was sponsored in part by the Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC). SDTC has contributed significant work towards the Government’s vision of a clean & green economy. 

b) Growth Strategies in the Clean Technology Patent Landscape & Innovation Assets Collective (Canada’s Patent Collective)

For entrepreneurs to gain some monopoly over their inventions and innovations and disrupt the cleantech space, it is crucial for them to understand the primary importance of “commercialisation” and “freedom to operate” in the world. In Canada, only 7.7 % of active assets patent filing are Canadian owned inventions. Most of Canada’s patent owners are from the United States (37%), Japan, Germany, and France (each at ~8%), which is alarming. In view of this, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has created many pilot programs to incentivise entrepreneurs to promote and support their clean technology inventions and innovation. CIPO has expedited patent examination services for Cleantech innovators. Moreover, they have partnered with the WIPO Green network, a marketplace platform, to build commercial relationships with cleantech entrepreneurs and customers. They also created an Intellectual Property (IP) analytic database via CCMT and (IAC). This initiative intends to support Canada’s data driven clean energy industry to foster its IP growth, generate value, build influence in the global market, and increase its rights in IP infringement suits. The major hindrance for cleantech entrepreneurs is funding to research and develop the invention. However, STDC and IAC offer many creative support systems and have generated IP Hedge funds, IP Credits, and merit-based awards for companies. Further, to mitigate the freedom to operate challenge, the IAC has fashioned an IP intelligence & prior art library to have a collective aspect which will consequently protect them from low quality patent assertions, navigate through patent pooling by acquiring third party rights, and working around having a landscape to operate freely without the deterrence of litigation.

c) What will be the implications of the “tech” in cleantech?

The suggest 850 Canadian firms have engaged with the clean technology sector. Hence, the implication of “tech” in cleantech is a pertinent discussion which usually arises from commoditisation, standardisation, globalisation, and market competitors. While conducting their due diligence, investors primarily emphasize and question potential companies about “whether there is any IP owned”, “how many IP” and “whether they are protected or disclosed widely”. Further, they also prefer Canadian companies for many reasons. While Canada has been a hub and spoke for among many other sectors, its strongest pursuit has not been cleantech so far i.e. solar plants or telecommunication sector, Mike Andrade, CEO of Morgan Solar, advised that the cleantech present or potential entrepreneur/innovators should be aware of the cautionary tales in the market and their IP rights. 

In conclusion, the good news is that support from the government, CIPO, and other institutions can help Canadian entrepreneurs to better manage their IP portfolios and invest in the cleantech market. Canada’s commitment to accelerate its reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by will forge many opportunities for cleantech SMEs and large entrepreneurs.

Written by Aishwerya Kansal, IPilogue Contributor. Aishwerya is pursuing Master’s in Law in International Business Laws at Osgoode Hall Law School, and she is also an IP Innovation Clinic Fellow.

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Recently, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an announcement that Federal Government would be supplying Merit Functional Foods with an interest-free $10 million loan through . is a Canadian company that manufactures high-quality plant-based proteins, such as pea protein and canola protein, using Canadian crops. The $10 million loan brings the project’s total government backing to , which Merit plans to use towards completing its state-of-the-art, 94,000 square foot . The facility is scheduled for completion by the end of 2020.

The project was partly funded by , which aims to accelerate the commercialization of innovating technologies that increase Canadian agriculture’s competitiveness and sustainability. Project applications are prioritized based on whether they advance the government’s agenda in particular areas, one of those being the adoption of “world leading clean technology.”

While it’s unclear if the Merit project was prioritized through its classification as clean technology, it is clear based on the scientific record that an investment in plant-based food science is an investment in such technology.

Background on the Plant-Based Movement

As someone who grew up in a vegetarian household, I was highly aware of the early phases of the plant-based movement in North America. was an important book in our family, brought down from the bookshelf every few months for re-examination.

Recently, however, plant-based foods have been gaining popularity at an unprecedented rate. It’s not exactly clear what led to this change, but easy access to documentaries like on Netflix and support from celebrities through things like Beyonce’s certainly didn’t hurt.

Today, some might say the final frontier has been reached: the fast food industry. There has been a major rollout of across McDonald’s, A&W, Wendy’s, and KFC. Even Maple Leaf Foods, a meat company, has introduced a , consisting of 50% meat and 50% plant-based protein, which the company says will help consumers “eat less meat, without giving it up all together.” With the number of US food and drink products using the words “plant-based” in their labelling , the plant-based movement is clearly gaining serious momentum.

The term refers to processes or products that improve environmental outcomes, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, land degradation, and water and air pollution. Innovative plant-based foods, their chemical makeups, and their manufacturing processes fall into this category, because they reduce or eliminate the environmental impacts of meat consumption.

The Environmental Impact of Meat Consumption

The meat industry is in four specific ways: (1) emission of greenhouse gases; (2) acidification and eutrophication of the environment; (3) consumption of natural resources, in particular energy and water; and (4) pollution from animal waste and waste water discharge.

In 2006, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations published on the various environmental impacts of livestock production. Some key statistics include:

• The total area dedicated to livestock feed crop production is 33% of total arable land
• The livestock sector is the largest anthropogenic user of land, taking up 26% of all ice-free terrestrial surface
• Deforestation and other land use changes emit 2.4 billion tonnes of CO2 per year
• The livestock sector is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions
• On-farm fossil fuel use may emit up to of CO2 per year
• The livestock sector is responsible for 64% of anthropogenic ammonia emissions, which contribute significantly to acid rain
• The meat industry is the largest sectoral source of water pollution, responsible for ⅓ of the nitrogen and phosphorus loads in freshwater resources in the US, as well as heavy metals, pathogens and drug residues
• Livestock require an enormous amount of water. For poultry, it’s highest, at an estimated and for dairy, it’s .

This and other evidence led the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to recommend dietary changes in its in 2016. The Report suggests that diets featuring plant-based foods “present major opportunities for adaptation and mitigation ... By 2050, dietary changes could free several million km of land and provide a technical mitigation potential of 0.7 to 8.0 GtCO2eq (), relative to business as usual projections.” Clearly, innovative plant-based food production is clean technology worth investing in.

Of course, plant-based foods come with their own problems (think monocultures, , for example). However, if individuals choose their plant-based options wisely, and the government continues to support research and development in the plant-based food industry, the availability of innovative plant-based foods may have a significant impact on the environment.

It’s exciting to see the Canadian government investing in clean technology through a variety of channels, including through agricultural innovation. It shows that Canada is serious about investing in the health and economic prosperity of its citizens by providing jobs, keeping the supply chain within Canada, and protecting our environment.

Written by Rachel Marcus. Rachel is going into her third year at Osgoode Hall Law School. She is a Fellow with the IP Osgoode Innovation Clinic, and a student in the IP and Technology Law Intensive.

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From 2-6 November 2009, the meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group for the ongoing negotiations under the (UNFCCC) and the to enhance international climate change cooperation took place in Barcelona, Spain. The Barcelona talks were the last round of negotiations before the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties which are to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009. Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of UNFCCC, for industrialized countries to raise their ambitions under the for protecting the environment from the hazards of climate change.

A high-level conference on “Climate Change: Technology Transfer and Development” took place in New Delhi, India, under the auspices of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The conference brought together governments, experts, industry representatives and civil society to help for technology in the context of climate change mitigation and adaptation to support the UNFCCC process. It sought to advance understanding on needed to accelerate technology development and transfer in all countries in accordance with their national needs in order to help pave the way for a successful outcome in Copenhagen later this year.

Addressing these issues of climate change and as a possible solution for the problem, India’s Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh said, developed economies must release green technology to help developing nations cut carbon emissions in the same way that pharmaceutical companies relaxed patents to help sufferers of HIV/AIDS. As , Mr. Singh appealed for a review of IP rights for green technology, saying they needed to be balanced to allow their wider deployment to halt the potential ravages of global warming. Mr. Singh’s comparison with responses to HIV/ AIDS recalls the bitter struggle with pharmaceutical companies over the price of anti-retroviral drugs and the use of generic drugs. Singh said, climate friendly and environmentally sound technologies should be viewed as a global public good and his call was echoed by Xie Zhenhua, vice-chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, who said gaining access to technology was a “crucial issue” for Copenhagen.

However, this leaves the issue of compulsory licensing unanswered.  One likely restricting point appears to be whether compulsory licensing may be encouraged for poor countries needing climate technologies. “The United States will not do compulsory licenses,” Jonathan Pershing, deputy special envoy for climate change at the US Department of State, told . The US statements are being watched in particular as it is currently the only industrialized nation that has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol, which required a set of developed countries to commit to reductions in their emissions. It is also one of the world’s largest polluters both in aggregate and per capita, so it is seen as particularly important that the country sign on to the next generation of climate protection measures.

The US Senate Democrats , pushed a sweeping climate change bill through a key committee, shrugging off a boycott by Republicans who oppose the measure. It is important to note that although the US Senate is working on a  climate change bill, the Democrats have abandoned hopes of wrapping up the process before Copenhagen. This is relevant because it is much more likely that the US will take a solid stance in the December meeting, if its own domestic climate change bill is in place by then. That bill refers to a strong system of IP so as to protect and encourage research and investment.

The issue of technology transfer is raised in the text of the UNFCCC. , the UNFCCC states that developing countries' ability to implement their commitments under the convention will depend on the effective implementation by developed nations of their commitments under the convention related to financial resources and transfer of technology. While the law and practice of compulsory licensing is well established for pharmaceuticals, it remains limited for green technology. The developing countries seek to better define the scope of national emergencies related to climate change.

Therefore now, the focus is on the US and the progress of its domestic climate change legislation will more or less direct the stance that US will take. President Obama's recent Nobel Peace Prize may also play a role in the talks, as the prize specifically mentioned his amongst other factors. This may put some added pressure on him to advance negotiations and hopefully arrive at a compromise commonly agreeable.

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Cleantech is everywhere you look. Hybrid cars. Energy efficient appliances. Geothermal power. There is a global realization that continuing our coal-burning, energy guzzling ways are unsustainable, both because we will exhaust the planet of its resources and because of the uncertain, but certainly disastrous, effects of climate change. Consequently, what was once seen as “alternative” technology has quickly becoming mainstream.

In response to this cleantech boom, many countries now provide a means for fast-tracking environmentally friendly patents. This fast-tracking is achieved by granting accelerated examination for patent applications relating to green technologies. Through this process, patents can be granted in as little as nine months rather than the typical multi-year process. The United States introduced such a system in 2006. As reported on , Australia, South Korea and the UK have followed suit with 2009 initiatives. Those hailing the fast-track system view it as a win-win scenario. The expedited process is seen as a potential boon to the economy, attracting environmentally friendly industry and creating jobs for years to come. Further, this system allows for earlier diffusion and use of green technologies amongst developed and developing countries to help in the global fight against climate change. Whether such hopes translate into reality is yet unknown.

The cleantech . Companies will be trying to build a strong cleantech patent portfolio as quickly as possible. However, introducing conditions ripe for feeding through cleantech patents in a short amount of time may also create more litigious conditions. It is possible that some companies would end up doing more harm than good by hastily trying to build such a portfolio. The accelerated patent process may bring an excess of unsatisfactory patents by creating a frenzied rush to the patent office.

Successful incorporation of clean technologies on a wide scale requires time, money and certainty of success. Although the planet does face many urgent environmental crises, the best solutions to these problems will be those that are the most well thought through. No single patent will provide a solution; rather, a piecemeal approach of proven technologies is needed to solve the problem that we have all created.

Despite some of the stated environmentally friendly intentions, the rationale for accelerated examination of clean technologies is primarily driven by economics. By 2018, revenues of are forecast in the sectors of solar photovoltaics, wind power, and biofuels alone. Undoubtedly, business in this area will concentrate where conditions are most favourable. Countries with no fast-track system for green patents will lose out on an important and emerging market. Thus, despite the possible drawbacks of fast-tracking cleantech patents, it is in Canada’s best interest to implement a similar fast-track system. By neglecting to do so we risk losing billions of dollars in an area that is sure to expand for years to come.

As a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, Canada has hopelessly fallen behind its targeted emissions reductions. It is possible that even more stringent targets may be set at the upcoming Copenhagen climate summit in December. Pressure will continue to grow both domestically and internationally for Canada to significantly lower its greenhouse gas emissions. Rather than paying for foreign cleantech in the future, why not do everything possible to encourage domestic growth in cleantech industries? Introducing environmentally friendly technologies at home would also make Canada a viable player in the carbon market, providing the country with additional sources of carbon credits to sell to other Kyoto signatories.

Canada’s rate of cleantech innovation is already beginning to lag behind that of other developed countries. , nations such as Japan, Germany and South Korea have seen an on average increase in cleantech patent filings while Canada has been remarkably stagnant. It would be speculative to conclude that this stagnation has been caused by a lack of incentives to cleantech companies, such as the ability to fast-track patents. However, this stagnation does demonstrate that the status quo in Canada is not efficiently attracting cleantech business. Conditions must change in order to entice new cleantech companies to Canada. A good first step would be to allow fast-tracking of environmentally friendly patents.

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