Professors and are seeking JD Research Assistants to assist in intellectual property law research.

Eligibility

To be eligible, you must be currently enrolled as a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.��

All applicants must possess strong grades, exemplary organizational skills, be proficient in legal research and writing, and have a strong interest in intellectual property law.

Term

May 2014 to August 2014, with a possibility of continuing on for the 2014/2015 academic year.

The successful candidates will receive a stipend.

Application Procedure

To apply, please submit:

1. A cover letter
2. A copy of your resume
3. A copy of your grades (can be unofficial grades; please include any previous degrees)
4. A sample of your written work on any topic of your choice

to iposgoode@osgoode.yorku.ca by Friday, March 21, 2014.

We thank all applicants in advance, only those students who will be interviewed will be contacted.

The post Call for Applications: JD Research Assistants appeared first on IPOsgoode.

IP Osgoode Board Member, Sylvain Laporte, CEO of , opened the conference by highlighting the quality of research being conducted at Canadian Universities and Colleges. He emphasized that this research is as strong as that being generated by students in any other country and represents a great Canadian resource. Commissioner Laporte presented data demonstrating that while IP applications are increasing in Canada, this increase is small relative to Canada’s major trading partners. Although the underlying research is happening, it appears that Canada lags behind in its ability to capitalize on a strong innovation base using the intellectual property system. Commissioner Laporte discussed how commercialization can transform Canadian research and entrepreneurial talent into economic and social benefits for all Canadians. As such, a major goal of is to use IP and commercialization to leverage Canadian innovation in order to promote economic growth in Canada.

To highlight the importance of the student perspective on this issue, the first panel of the day consisted of three student researchers at various degree levels, who shared their first hand experiences with student innovation and commercializing their research. Razieh Niazi, a PhD candidate and CEO of . discussed her experience as a graduate student who has successfully commercialized her doctoral research. Razieh highlighted the process involved in patenting her research and establishing Kaypok Inc., which specializes in filtering, analyzing, and interpreting large data sets. Razieh also discussed the difficulties encountered while trying to run a company and complete her PhD. The time demands for running a start-up company are significant and have caused her to take a leave of absence from her studies. Furthermore, the strategy utilized in patenting her invention prevents her from publishing her research, a requirement for completing her PhD. Pasan Hapuarachchi, a law student at Osgoode Hall and entrepreneur stressed the importance of institutional infrastructure in supporting student inventors. Pasan also touched on the need to educate students and supervisors on all aspects of IP and commercialization.

Dr. Verkerk, a research associate at 91��ɫ, discussed many of the practical challenges facing student inventors. These challenges include everything from a simple lack of knowledge regarding IP to relationships with supervisors who are averse to the idea of student inventorship or commercialization of academic research in general. A prominent theme that emerged from the first panel is the need to properly educate students and supervisors about IP and the commercialization process.

The second panel shifted the discussion from the perspective of students and supervisors to that of the university. Dr. Phipps, Executive Director of Research & Innovation Services at 91��ɫ and Salvatore Paneduro, Research Officer, Faculty of Graduate Studies at 91��ɫ provided an overview of the existing infrastructure to help students acquire IP and commercialize their research. This system has resulted in several success stories including that of . Professor O’Connor of the University of Washington School of Law provided a perspective from south of the boarder and stressed the importance of the student-supervisor relationship in the innovation to commercialization process.

Bill Mantel, Assistant Deputy Minister of the Research, Commercialization & Entrepreneurship Division at the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, delivered the luncheon keynote. Minister Mantel provided an overview of the infrastructure in place in Ontario for supporting academic innovation and its commercialization. Local environment is one of the greatest determinants of start-up company success and growth. The government is taking an active role in developing a local environment where small start-ups can flourish and help drive the commercialization of academic research.

The afternoon session featured a panel of speakers representing the industry perspective. Jeremy Laurin of tackled the differences between Canada and the US with respect to commercialization of academic research, stressing that Canada must foster an entrepreneurial culture in academia amongst students and faculty. Reza Yacoob of Sanofi Pasteur, David Laliberté of Microsoft and Bill Chan of IBM discussed the important contribution of student research to innovation in the industry sector. The discussion revealed that while relationships with academic institutes are improving many student inventors approach industrial partners with expectations that are too high.

Dr. Kozinski, Dean Lassonde School of Engineering, closed the conference by sharing his vision. Dean Kozinski is striving to create a program that brings together Osgoode Hall Law School, the Schulich School of Business and the Lassonde School of Engineering to create an environment that removes obstacles to innovation and promotes student-led innovation and commercialization.

After a day of stimulating discussion I believe the following thoughts aptly summarize the emerging themes. Canada has a great and largely untapped resource in the academic research being conducted at Canadian Colleges and Universities. Federal and Provincial governments have recognized this and are actively working to create the infrastructure necessary to support the commercialization of academic innovation. Academic institutes are also establishing programs to help student inventors obtain IP and commercialize their research. One area that I think requires attention is educating students and supervisors, about entrepreneurship, IP and commercialization. The majority of students appear to have little or no knowledge concerning these important topics. One recommendation discussed on several occasions was implementing mandatory IP and commercialization courses for graduate students. Regardless of whether or not this is the best solution, ensuring students and supervisors are properly educated on issues of IP, entrepreneurship and commercialization will be crucial to realizing goal of using IP and commercialization to leverage Canadian innovation to promote economic growth in Canada.

At the end of the day it was exciting to see voices from different sectors recognizing the important role students play in the innovation to commercialization process. It is important to keep the discussion alive and the ideas flowing. On this note, Toronto will be hosting the 5^{�ٳ���} in November 2013. The conference brings together stakeholders from many different areas to discuss important issues concerning Canadian science policy. This would be an excellent opportunity to keep the momentum rolling and I encourage all those interested to attend.

Sean Jackson is a JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.

The post Reflecting On A Day Of Discussions Surrounding The Important Student Role From Invention To Commercialization appeared first on IPOsgoode.

In 2011 Professor D'Agostino in collaboration the and launched the OCE/IP Osgoode Innovation Clinic, which ����DZ�������������� bono��assistance to start-up companies.�� Under the supervision of lawyers from Torys LLP, student volunteers of Osgoode Hall��Law School work wi�ٳ���under-resourced companies to��help them secure and protect their IP en��route to commercial success.

Her��goal in starting the clinic��was to provide a service from��the grassroots perspective to help innovators make it into the��economy while at the same time increase experiential learning opportunities for students at Osgoode.�� Currently,��students��volunteer their time��at the��clinic but��there are plans to expand and institutionalize the program so that students can get course credits for their work.����The clinic serves a diverse range of innovators primarily from the biotechnology, green industry, and the ITC sectors, however, there��are also plans to expand the services of the clinic to the digital media and mechanical engineering sectors.

To��learn more about the services offered by the clinic,��click .

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Representing Osgoode are Ryan Heighton and Ryan Keller in the role of the Respondent, Robert Trenker and David Bowden in the role of the Appellant, and Danny Titolo to round out the team.

The Team is coached by , a member of IP Osgoode’s Advisory Board, and , all partners at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP. Founder & Director of IP Osgoode, , serves as the team’s Faculty Advisor.

The is intended to promote education in the intellectual property field and to provide students with the opportunity to interact with jurists of the Supreme, Ontario, and Federal Courts and experienced practitioners of intellectual property law. The moot is named in honour of the late , one of Canada’s leading intellectual property scholars and advocates.

The 2013 Fox Moot will be held on February 22-23, 2013.���� The , Chief Justice of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, will be delivering the Fifth Annual Harold G. Fox Moot Lecture.

The post Introducing the 2012-2013 Fox Moot Team for Osgoode appeared first on IPOsgoode.

1. In the Law Student category, the judges selected joint winners for this year’s Challenge:

Daniel Whalen won for his entry: “”. The author is a third-year law student at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto.

Susan Croft won for her entry: “”. The author is a third-year law student at Queen’s University in Kingston.

2. In the Graduate Student category, the judges did not select a winner for this year’s Challenge.

3. In the Professional category, the judges did not select a winner for this year’s Challenge.

We were pleased to receive submissions from across the country on a wide range of subjects, including: entertainment law, fairy tales, Internet governance, parody, philosophy, the public interest, trade mark, and traditional knowledge.

The winners will be receiving a prize of $1000 each and, in addition to having their articles showcased here on the IPilogue, the articles will be considered for publication in the Canadian Intellectual Property Review (CIPR) and the Intellectual Property Journal (IPJ).

We would like to thank our esteemed intellectual property experts who served as judges for the Challenge:

We look forward to next year’s IP Writing Challenge and continuing to help ignite a more vibrant public policy discussion on all facets of intellectual property law and technology.

��is the Founder and Director of IP Osgoode.����is the Executive Director of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada.

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