Budget 2021 encourages intellectual property in Canada

In April 2021, the Canadian government released Budget 2021: A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience, which would encourage innovation in Canada with several new programs relating to intellectual property. In addition to addressing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, building an  “innovation economy” is a key aspect. The budget legislation, Bill C-30, is currently pending before the legislature, but is expected to pass before summer.

ElevateIP would be a new program to help accelerators and incubators provide start-ups with access to expert intellectual property services. $90 million over two years, starting in 2022-23 is proposed to support this initiative. The budget also proposed using ‎$75 million over three years, starting in 2021-22, for the National ‎Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program to ‎provide high-growth client firms with access to expert intellectual ‎property services.‎ These programs will be supported by the launch of a Strategic Intellectual Property Program Review. This review is intended as a broad assessment of intellectual property provisions in Canada’s innovation and science programming, and will focus on Canadians fully benefiting from innovations and intellectual property.

Canada Small Business Financing Program would be improved through amendments to the Canada Small Business Financing Act and its regulations that would increase annual financing by $560 million to support additional small businesses. This would include expanding loan class eligibility to include lending against intellectual property and start-up assets and expenses.

The budget also proposed to allow expensing of up to $1.5 million of eligible investments by Canadian-controlled private corporations made on or after Budget Day and before 2024. This incentive targets short- and medium-term capital investments that can accelerate economic recovery, and includes digital assets and intellectual property.

The budget includes several programs targeted to specific sectors, including:

• the Net Zero Accelerator for projects to reduce domestic greenhouse emissions;
• expanding the Industrial Research Assistance Program to support innovative small and medium sized firms;
• support for the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy;
• launching a National Quantum Strategy to focus on quantum research and quatum-ready technologies;
• modernizing the Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre; 
• supporting a Pan-Canadian Genomics Strategy with funding for genomics research; and
• providing $2.2 billion over seven years directed to the life sciences sector.

These announcements will encourage research and development in Canada and make it easier for innovators to obtain intellectual property protection for these developments, as they compete globally. DLA Piper can assist with this process in Canada, and in key jurisdictions around the world. 

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