Intellectual property is an essential mechanism to drive the knowledge economy.

At a university — where research and innovation happen every day — creativity, research and original thinking produce intellectual property. Inventions, computer code, writing, artistic expression, designs and processes are only some examples of intellectual property that form the basis of innovation.

An upcoming webinar, offered through the Building Better Research series, will provide an overview of intellectual property, present a commercialization model that will help guide the translation of ideas into practice, discuss industry and community collaborations, and review resources available at Brock.

Intellectual Property and Commercialization will take place Tuesday, Nov. 22 from noon to 1 p.m. via Microsoft Teams.

Members of the Office of Research Services’ Partnerships, Innovation and Intellectual Property Advancement (PIIPA) team, Bradley McLean, Associate Director, Innovation, Commercialization and Partnerships, and Iva Bruhova, Business Development Officer, will lead the presentation.

“University research is a vibrant source of ideas and intellectual property,” says Bruhova. “There is a national and provincial drive to support Canadian- and Ontario-created intellectual property that is generated by researchers to ultimately foster innovation, maximize its value and translational impact, and enhance research and commercialization outcomes.”

Examples of intellectual property include patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and industrial designs.

Bruhova says Brock researchers, including faculty, students, staff and post-doctoral fellows, may not fully understand intellectual property as it applies to their research, who owns it when it is created at Brock, why intellectual property is important and how it can benefit research.

These questions and more will be answered in the workshop, she says.

Additional presentation topics include:

• The basics of intellectual property and the benefits of protecting it.
• Mobilizing research to make an impact using a simple five-step model that guides the translation of ideas into practice, even if the idea does not have commercial applications.
• Entrepreneurial support available at Brock LINC for researchers considering starting their own business.
• Initiating and supporting collaborations with industry and community.
• Available resources at Brock.

Anyone interested in attending the workshop is asked to register via ExperienceBU.

Building Better Research is a professional development workshop series offered jointly by the Office of Research Services and Brock University Library to enhance research efforts at Brock.

Upcoming Building Better Research sessions, including the four remaining presentations planned for the Fall Term, are listed on the Building Better Research web page.