Have you heard of the Innovation Economy Council (IEC)?
If not, you’ll want to read on!
The Innovation Economy Council — or IEC for short — is an extremely important organization for strengthening the Canadian innovation economy.
The IEC brings together Canadian innovation hubs, institutions, entrepreneurs, corporate partners and investors to create data-driven reports that can address key issues facing the innovation community and produce live events showcasing the country’s foremost thought leaders. Its goal is to boost collaboration and increase the adoption of technology — at home and abroad. With novel insights and critical discussion, the IEC aims to unite all members of Canada’s diverse tech community.
The IEC’s latest report “Ideas For Sale: Why IP Is a Symptom, Not a Cause, Of Canada’s Failure to Scale” is a thought-provoking piece on why preventing foreign takeovers is about much more than a flight of intellectual property.
Here’s an short excerpt:
“Three-quarters of the patents held by venture capital-backed Canadian startups involved in recent takeovers are now in foreign hands. Ownership of more than 200 promising young companies, along with a trove of valuable intellectual property, has left the country since 2017, mainly to the U.S., according to research by the Innovation Economy Council.
Percentage of patent families held by venture-capital-backed Canadian startups involved in recent takeovers by country of new owner. On the surface, the trend suggests an economic disaster in the making. Canada’s startup sector may be in the midst of a destructive hollowing out, as foreign owners grab the upside of our best ideas, often born in publicly funded universities and nurtured with generous tax breaks and government grants.
And if that’s the case, what can be done about it?“
To learn more about IEC and to read this latest report in full (as well as additional insightful reports), visit the Innovation Economy Council here
