Intellectual Property Clinics Program

The application period for 2023–24 funding is now closed.

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About the IP Clinics Program

The Intellectual Property (IP) Clinics Program is a grant program designed to support free or low- cost access to basic IP advisory services and to foster the development of future IP experts by increasing university students' exposure to IP issues.

Program update

The IP Clinics Program, originally known as the Intellectual Property Legal Clinics Program, was intended to encourage the establishment or enhancement of IP legal clinics within Canadian law schools.

Budget 2022 announced additional funds to expand the IP Clinics Program in order to make it easier to access basic IP services. As part of this expansion, the list of eligible recipients is being extended to include Canadian business schools. A total of $350,000 in funding will be available in 2023– 24, with another $400,000 annually from 2024– 25.

Program objectives

The program enables law and business students to learn more about IP, helps businesses get a sense of their IP needs and facilitates access to the professionals who can provide quality IP advice. This helps improve the understanding of IP among those served by IP clinics and increase access to IP services for small and medium-sized enterprises, women and Indigenous innovators as they seek to develop effective IP strategies and protect their innovations. This program contributes to the objectives of Canada's Intellectual Property Strategy, as it helps Canadian innovators and entrepreneurs better understand, protect and commercialize IP.

A key objective of this program is to encourage students to be aware of the potential value of IP in business ventures, as well as to consider integrating an IP strategy into business planning, where appropriate. Therefore, funding initiatives that feature an interdepartmental or cooperative component are encouraged.

Apply for a grant

Online form:
Intellectual Property (IP) Clinics Program grant application form

 

Deadline to apply: August 21, 2023

The deadline for the 2023-24 application has passed. Please refer to the program guide for more information about the IP Clinics Program, eligibility, the assessment process and the application process.

If you are unable to apply using the online form, please fill out the PDF or Word document below and submit your completed application to ic.ipstrategy-strategieenmatieredepi.ic@canada.ca.

Grant recipients

Through this program, the Government of Canada has funded projects at several universities to develop or expand IP clinic training and services. Since the launch of the program, the following Canadian university law programs were selected to receive funding:

Contact information

Telephone (toll-free in Canada): 1-800-328-6189
Telephone (Ottawa): 613-954-5031
Fax: 343-291-1913
TTY (for hearing-impaired): 1-866-694-8389

By email: ic.ipstrategy-strategieenmatieredepi.ic@canada.ca

Business hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)

By mail:
Marketplace Framework Policy Branch
C.D. Howe Building
235 Queen Street, 10th floor, East Tower
Ottawa, ON K1A 0H5
Canada