OTTAWA, December 19, 2017 – In late November, the federal government’s Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (INDU) released a report reviewing intellectual property policies and practices, while also identifying ways to incentivize the creation of intellectual property. The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) is pleased to see the committee pushing for more data collection around intellectual property policies at post-secondary institutions.
In July 2017, CASA sent a submission on student intellectual property to the INDU committee, hoping to see more protection of students’ intellectual property rights. One of the shortcomings CASA noted in this submission was the lack of up-to-date information on intellectual property policies at post-secondary institutions, following the discontinuation of Statistics Canada’s Survey of Intellectual Property Commercialization in the Higher Education Sector. Without this information, it is difficult to analyze how post-secondary institutions are handling intellectual property and commercializing it, which leaves students, policy-makers, and stakeholders in the dark.
Within INDU’s report, the committee recommends that Statistics Canada develop a new survey on the technology transfer between post-secondary institutions and the private sector, in order to fill this gap in information.
CASA’s Executive Director, Michael McDonald, explains: “Students are key players in intellectual property development. It is crucial that they, along with policy-makers and stakeholders, be able to access up-to-date information about what is going on at Canadian institutions. That’s why we are happy to see the committee call for Statistics Canada to reinstate and update its survey on intellectual property.”
Additionally, CASA was pleased to see the committee recommend continued support for educational initiatives that inform students and researchers about their intellectual property rights. CASA believes it is critical that all students know what their rights are while working within a post-secondary environment.
CASA continues to call on the government to do all it can to protect, develop and clarify students’ and early career researchers’ intellectual property rights.
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About CASA:
Established in 1995, the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) is a non-partisan, not-for-profit, national student organization composed of 22 student associations representing 255,000 post-secondary students from coast to coast. CASA advocates for a Canadian post-secondary education system that is accessible, affordable, innovative, and of the highest quality.
Contact:
Lindsay Boyd, Communications and Public Relations Officer
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 613-236-3457 ext. 224
