The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) advocates for post-secondary education (PSE) in Canada to be accessible, affordable, innovative, and of the highest quality. A key aspect of these principles is ensuring that the Canadian post-secondary system properly supports students who wish to develop intellectual property (IP) during their studies.
IP can be defined as the tangible products of research and creative intellect; the fixed expression of ideas including, but not limited to, inventions, compositions, software, music, art, designs, photographs and processes. Students often create IP in the course of their studies and research. Post-secondary institution policies on the ownership of such works are not consistent and are rarely formed with the student’s best interests in mind. As Canada continues to invest in innovation, it will be important to have clear rules protecting and promoting the rights of post-secondary students in the creation of IP. There is no doubt that students are the IP creators of the future. It is equally important to recognize that, in many instances, they are the IP creators of today.
