Egin Kongoli is an IP Innovation Clinic Fellow and a 3L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. This article was written as a requirement for Prof. Pina D’Agostino’s IP Intensive program.

When I was first assigned a utility provider as my placement for the Intellectual Property Law and Technology Intensive, I thought, “What does providing electricity have to do with intellectual property?” As I quickly learned, businesses that haven’t traditionally dealt with IP rights are facing a rising tide of related challenges as they seek to capitalize on new opportunities. Intellectual property directly supports Alectra Utility Corporation’s evolution from a distributor of electricity to a springboard for greater opportunities for their customers. While Alectra’s traditional role as a service provider still makes up most of its business, the provides new incentives to support innovative research and development. My internship at Alectra was spent on, among other things, the ongoing development of an intellectual property strategy to capture more value from the utility’s emerging collaborative business, along with consideration of its institutional business.

Reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 requires a significant transformation of Ontario’s energy system. As a utility provider serving over a million Ontarians, Alectra is poised at the forefront of this project. Through the Green Energy & Technology Centre (GRE&T Centre), Alectra cultivates innovation by identifying, evaluating, and accelerating emerging clean-energy solutions. The work is cutting-edge, like 2021’s GridExchange Pilot, a transactive, blockchain-backed energy platform and marketplace. Through GridExchange, customers with energy assets like solar panels, battery storage, or electric vehicles can receive compensation and rewards for managing their energy use, such as . From municipalities to start-ups, many are eager to access utility data so that they might develop other innovative solutions. Proper strategy, governance, processes, policies and contracts are needed to ensure any IP creation resulting from the collaboration and any real upside potential can be shared with Alectra.

IP strategy determines a standard for how rights-based issues will be handled in the collaborative environment. Canadian universities have paved the way in this regard. Like Alectra, these institutions aim to serve the public interest through the fruits of intellectual inquiry by enabling and encouraging research and development. University IP policies vary, but they all grapple with similar legal issues such as disclosure, use, ownership, commercialization, and revenue sharing. As third-party members working with Alectra and the GRE&T Centre receive data alongside meaningful learning and experience, using personal information by third parties will require careful consideration of not just legal obligations but also Alectra’s reputation. Current privacy legislation dictates that corporations must obtain valid consent from the individual to collect, use or disclose their personal information. At the same time, the federal government’s newly proposed Bill C-27, the Consumer Privacy Protection Act, weaves a web of exceptions to regulated practices that obfuscates oversight. For example, the CPPA excludes “anonymized data” from its purview, regardless of the ongoing debate on whether data can ever be de-identified without a remaining risk of re-identification. However, the proposed legislation permits the de-identification of data and the use of this material without the requisite knowledge or consent of the customer if the disclosure is made for “a socially beneficial purpose,” including the “protection of the environment.” By way of example, if Alectra or another utility discloses data to develop clean-energy infrastructure or energy-saving services, would it be excluded as a socially beneficial purpose? If a business anonymizes and aggregates its data sets, does this mean such disclosures are excluded entirely from regulatory oversight? Personal information must not be collected or used to influence an individual’s behaviour or decisions, but what if such a purpose is an alleged “socially beneficial” one?

My time at Alectra was illuminating. The work was not only related to intellectual property law but was also challenging and required endless inquiry to understand the nuanced interplay of laws and a business’s interests. From privacy to protecting against misappropriation, data practices demand multiple layers of legal and operational consideration. Whether through an NDA or an employment contract, a business’s dealings must reflect its IP strategy. Collaborative agreements must delineate contributions made by the company and benefits shared back. As , contractual measures must be taken to protect the data, but cannot be so strict as to dissuade collaboration. These challenges, and others unnamed here, offer exciting opportunities for lawyers working in the utility space as intellectual property law continues to fuel innovation.

The post Powering the Future: Insights on Energy Innovation from a Semester at Alectra (IP Intensive Reflection) appeared first on IPOsgoode.

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Emily Xiang is an IPilogue Writer, the President of the Intellectual Property Society of Osgoode, and a 2L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.

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Decommissioning is the Future

In the energy sector, decommissioning refers to the practice of dismantling energy installations at the end of their life cycles when they no longer satisfy required standards of safety, security, regulation, economic viability, ethical considerations, or environmental integrity. This process may also involve removing, recycling, remanufacturing, storing, or disposing of specific compounds. Nuclear energy, coal and gas-fired energy, and renewable energy are currently the facing decommissioning. For example, wind turbines typically have a lifespan of approximately . As the lifespan of first-generation turbines comes to an end, new decommissioning issues in the renewable energy sector is making room for new patent opportunities as well. In some countries, old turbine blades are being repurposed for their strength and stability to . Some are also being re-developed or re-applied to extract fiberglass and other reusable materials from old blades, with a view to recycle them for future use in new turbines.

Current Challenges with Decommissioning

Unfortunately, decommissioning existing energy infrastructures in a cost-effective and environmentally sound manner comes with its fair share of challenges, many of which public and private stakeholders alike have overlooked. For instance, decommissioning policymakers will need to turn their minds to the , or the handling, transportation, reuse, recycling, and disposal of . The process of decommissioning is also sure to incur costs, but to execute their decommissioning projects effectively. There are also several associated with either restoring decommissioned sites to their original condition or preparing them for subsequent use. Moreover, the of many infrastructure sites raises logistical challenges concerning the mobilization of equipment and resources.��

Opportunities for Patents in the Decommissioning Sector

Patents form one avenue available to protect innovations that may address some of the current challenges related to decommissioning in the energy sector. Moreover, various mechanisms exist for expediting the application process for innovations that serve a particular purpose. For instance, , including an advanced examination of green technologies that help resolve or mitigate environmental impacts. Patent applicants that seek to address current environmental concerns with decommissioning may find themselves on a fast-tracked requisition course at no additional cost.��

However, the practice of regularly maintaining and renewing patents often comes with ongoing costs. Patent applicants and holders should be mindful of how their IP rights can be aligned with commercially profitable decommissioning activities worldwide to mitigate costs. , patent applications for inventions related to decommissioning may first be filed in countries such as Canada or the UK, where decommissioning activities are increasing and expedited avenues of examination for green technologies are currently available. Meanwhile, applications in other patenting jurisdictions in which energy infrastructures are still being developed or are still not yet nearing the end of their lifespans may be allowed to follow ordinary examination courses.��

Conclusion

��As older generation energy infrastructures near the end of their lifespans, the need for comprehensive decommissioning policies and novel innovations will only increase. Until recently, many of the challenges associated with decommissioning were , with stakeholder interests moreso focused on new builds or retrofit projects. Careful planning on the part of both operators and interested parties on the IP front will be essential in ensuring efficient and effective decommissioning projects.

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Photo Credit: Adib Hussain on Unsplash (edited by Ashley Moniz)

Photo Credit: Adib Hussain on .

Ali Mesbahian is an IPilogue Writer and a 2L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.

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The ever-growing reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) in our everyday life and industry is an undisputable condition of our time. Whether we speak of gaming, speech and facial recognition, smartphones, medical research, agriculture, trading and investment, cybersecurity, or resource extraction (and of course, much more)—few, if any, sectors fall outside the purview of AI. As with any emerging technology, as to whether AI is a “net good” are abundant. This brief article focuses on this issue with respect to AI’s environmental impact.

For starters, it is important to acknowledge AI’s potential in combatting climate change. Among other things, lead to better climate predictions, create virtual simulations that demonstrate what a given area would look like after the impacts of climate change, and help track the source of carbon emissions for regulation purposes.

On the other hand, AI requires infrastructure that consumes a great deal of energy. study conducted at the University of Massachusetts Amherst shed light on the enormous scale of this consumption: the energy required to train a single natural language processing (NLP) model leaves a carbon footprint of roughly 300,000 kg— (for a fascinating map on the human and environmental costs of AI, see ). Of more concern, “.” But what contributes to this increasing energy-intensive dynamic? Consider the following two points .

First, some researchers and academics have raised concerns about the AI community’s hyper-focus on their models’ accuracy and which come at the expense of cost and energy-efficiency considerations. Accordingly, calls are being made to research “ ��that not only incorporates the energy consumption levels of a given AI model in its evaluative criteria, but also factors in the renewability of energy-sources and the extent to which a given model’s research results can be reproduced for future research.

Second, a 2020 , illustrates the close connection between tech and fossil-fuel industries. For instance, while Microsoft has vowed to become “carbon negative” by 2030 in order to counteract its contribution to environmental damage, it also offers AI capabilities to oil and gas companies such as ExxonMobil “in all phases of oil production.” Microsoft is not alone in signing these kinds of lucrative contracts; it’s joined by companies such as Amazon and Google. This casts huge doubt on the achievability and commitment of tech firms’ own climate goals. As was the case when , it is important for both civil society and insiders in the tech industry to pressure corporate executives to stop assisting the extractive activities of the fossil fuel industry and be more aggressive in reducing their own carbon footprints.

It is important to mention that the success of initiatives aiming to reduce the negative impacts of AI depend on the , both domestically and internationally. In this regard, I end with a hopeful starting point: Germany’s supreme constitutional court’s historic ruling in April 2021 that rendered the government’s climate goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 as . The Court found that the government’s policy simply does not go far enough in protecting future generations from the catastrophes of climate change. As a result, the German government is in the process of bringing forward a —which undoubtedly bears regulatory implications for the tech industry.

To learn more about the relationship between artificial intelligence and the environment, check out next week’s , hosted by IP Osgoode and featuring a panel of leaders in the fields of AI and sustainability.

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The was really the perfect opportunity for me. I saw it as a chance to work directly with clients on actual legal matters, in a field that I knew I was interested in. After expressing my interest in clean technology during my qualifying interview for the Intensive, I found out I was going to be placed with Alectra Utilities, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I had never really given much thought to utilities. All I knew was that every month I got a bill in the mail, and that my lights didn’t go off and my water kept running. So imagine my surprise when I entered the workforce at Alectra.

is a utilities company, which distributes energy under strict regulatory oversight by the Ontario Energy Board. But to say that Alectra is just a utilities company would be to do it a great disservice, and actually wouldn’t reflect my time there at all.

I spent most of my time working (virtually) at the Green Energy and Technology Centre (), an arm of the business focused on emerging technologies with departments like “Advanced Planning,” “Grid Innovation” and “Smart Cities.”

It turns out that Alectra not only provides energy to homes and offices, but is also at the forefront of research and development in cutting edge energy solutions, including solar power, electric vehicles, and microgrids.

While my experience allowed me to gain exposure to a wide variety of areas like corporate law and real estate law, the bulk of my time was focused on completing an IP inventory. The IP inventory allowed me to read through nearly 100 different agreements, past and present, that Alectra was a party to. I read through NDAs, software licensing agreements, government funding agreements, construction agreements, and more, absorbing as much as I could about how different relationships are structured in the renewable energy space.

As in-house counsel, I think you learn a lot about the industry you are in, just due to the sheer variety of matters that come your way. Every department needs your involvement in something at some point, and so you gain exposure to everything that the business does. In my case, I was constantly encouraged to ask more questions, and to reach out to whoever I wanted. I was also given presentations by the heads of different departments, and was invited to attend board meetings and staff meetings. I was fortunate that my supervisor even signed me up for a few different conferences during my Intensive, including a two-day conference about Canada’s electric vehicle strategy!

Besides having constant learning opportunities in-house at Alectra, I was also paired up with an associate from Gowling WLG, who supervised my work on the IP Inventory. I had weekly meetings with him, and was able to not only ask about matters pertaining to the IP Inventory directly, but about broader questions I had about IP law. I really had the best of both worlds, having direct access to both in-house counsel and an associate from a leading law firm.

Throughout the course of the semester, I also gained exposure to different leadership styles. I had never worked for such a large corporation, so I found it really interesting to observe the various ways senior members of the organization chose to lead the employees reporting to them -- In general, the attitude at Alectra was super positive and collegial, so much so that I barely noticed that everything was virtual this year. I also learned a lot about how I want to act as a professional in the legal field by observing the values that different members of the legal department exemplified. I learned that you should (try) not to stress too much, know your stuff inside and out, and most importantly, always express your appreciation for your co-workers.

If you’re reading this and you’re on the fence about participating in the IP & Technology Law Intensive program, then take this as a sign! Fill out an application and make sure you check off Alectra as your first choice placement!

Written by Rachel Marcus, 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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