Canadian IP Voices is a podcast series where we discuss tips, tricks and issues to help Canadian businesses grow and succeed, and explore the bigger picture of how trademarks, patents, copyrights, industrial designs and trade secrets work in real life. To receive new episodes as they become available, subscribe to the IP podcast through:

Episode 30: Why IP is important: Insights from an IP advisor

Date and length of podcast: September 6, 2023 28:43 min
André Gallant, one of CIPO's IP advisors, talks about how IP advisors break myths and highlights opportunities and risks around IP and IP protection.
Explore online:
- Contact CIPO IP advisors
Episode 29: How the unitary patent and the Unified Patent Court work

Date and length of podcast: July 5, 2023 25:18 min
Anthony Dearden explains how the new unitary patent and Unified Patent Court in Europe will work and shares some key considerations for anyone applying for patents in Europe.
Explore online:
Episode 28: How to apply for a patent in the U.S. and other countries

Date and length of podcast: June 7, 2023 21:29 min
Dominique Lambert, a patent agent at Bereskin & Parr, explains how the provisional patent in the U.S. works and how to apply for patent protection abroad using the PCT.
Episode 27: How not to spend money on bad patents

Date and length of podcast: April 19, 2023 38:06 min
Louis Carbonneau, a patent broker who evaluates hundreds of patents for clients each year, shares some tips and tricks on where to spend the money to ensure you file for valuable IP rights.
Explore online:
- Louis Carbonneau's blog (English only)
Episode 26: Who owns AI-generated creations (and why you should care)

Date and length of podcast: March 1, 2023 31:53 min
Guillaume Lavoie Ste-Marie, copyright, patent and trademark litigator and principal at Smart & Biggar in Montreal, talks about ChatGPT, intellectual property (IP) tips and traps that artificial intelligence (AI) users should be aware of before creating works with AI—and if using AI to answer IP questions is a good idea.
Episode 25: Is your IP future-proof? How to think like an in-house IP counsel

Date and length of podcast: February 1, 2023 17:06 min
Robert Guay, director of IP at Shopify, shares some ideas and insights on how to think like a pro when it comes to patents.
Explore online:
Episode 24: How IP rights saved my business

Date and length of podcast: January 4, 2023 12:41 min
Johanne Boivin, expert advisor at Point Cardinal and former CEO or executive vice-president shares her story of how IP saved her business.
Explore online:
Episode 23: FIFA World Cup special: How FIFA protects its intellectual property

Date and length of podcast: December 7, 2022 20:43 min
Julie Jones and Raed AlHout explain how the FIFA head office in Switzerland and officials in Qatar protect FIFA IP assets before and during the World Cup.
Explore online:
Episode 22: What is the difference between a corporate name, trade name, brand name and domain name?

Date and length of podcast: November 2, 2022 23:53 min
Martin Lacelle from Corporations Canada and lawyer James Plotkin clarify the differences between and importance of legal/trade/brand/domain names.
Explore online:
Episode 21: How do incubators/accelerators support innovators and their IP?

Date and length of podcast: October 5, 2022 20:06 min
Josée Pharand, Director of IP Programs and Policies at ventureLAB, explains how ventureLAB supports innovators and their IP in the Canadian innovation ecosystem. Tune in for a discussion about choosing between patents and trade secrets, and learn how many accelerators and incubators help companies grow without asking for any stake in their IP, equity or future revenues.
Discover online: https://www.venturelab.ca/news/intellectual-property-101
Episode 20: How traditional brands and IP rights are entering the metaverse

Date and length of podcast: June 22, 2022 20:47 min
Brigitte Chan, lawyer and trademark agent discusses what IP professionals are observing as real brands are going virtual in a fictional universe; the metaverse.
Explore online:
Episode 19: How plant breeders' rights are protected in Canada

Date and length of podcast: June 8, 2022 31:07 min
Anthony Parker, Commissioner of the Plant Breeders' Rights Office within the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, explains the development of plant breeders' rights, how they are examined and how they function in Canada.
Explore online:
Episode 18: Powered by Haloo: How artificial intelligence systems can be used to prepare trademark registration applications

Date and length of podcast: May 25, 2022 25:56 min
Julie MacDonell, Co-founder and CEO of Haloo discusses the importance of trademarks and how artificial intelligence is used at Haloo to partially replace manual searching in the trademark registration application process.
Explore online:
Learn more about trademarks and what the rules are concerning what can and cannot be registered at www.cipo.gc.ca/tm-guide
Episode 17: How IP is managed in the academic sector

Date and length of podcast: May 11, 2022 23:17 min
Mark Weber, director of Innovation and Partnerships at McGill University, explains why and how a university manages intellectual property.
Explore online:
Episode 16: Best practices for using open source software

Date and length of podcast: April 27, 2022 46:18 min
Jules Gaudin, of ROBIC, explains some of the pitfalls and best practices for users and providers of open source software.
Explore online:
Choosing a licence: Information on the most common open source licences, to help you decide on the best type of licence for your project.
Snyk: Tool to help you find and fix vulnerabilities in the code of your open source content.
Open source guides: Guides and information on open source topics like how to contribute to or launch an open source project and how to build an open source community.
Licence open source et bonnes pratiques: Webinar with lawyer Jules Gaudin (in French).
Episode 15: How to protect training data used in the creation of AI systems

Date and length of podcast: April 13, 2022 31:08 min
Artificial Intelligence experts and in-house counsels Paul Gagnon and Misha Benjamin talk about the rights and limitations of IP protection for data used in the creation of artificial intelligence systems.
Explore online: Towards Standardization of Data Licenses: The Montreal Data License, a scholarly paper providing a taxonomy for the licensing of data in the fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Episode 14: Intangible assets at risk: How to get cyber smart

Date and length of podcast: March 30, 2022 25:04 min
Nigel Russell, policy analyst and CyberSecure Canada advisor, explains the importance of understanding cyber security and the steps you can take to keep your digital intellectual property safe.
Explore online:
CyberSecure Canada: How to get certified, e-learning modules, online self-assessment.
Canadian Centre for Cyber Security: Toolkits on cyber security, small business guides to cyber security, access to cyber security experts.
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: Access to cybercrime police services, guidance on post-cyber crime recovery.
Episode 13: What exactly is a patent?

Date and length of podcast: March 16, 2022 27:53 min
Beatrice Sze, patent examiner at CIPO, explains the cornerstones of patents and what you need to know if you're considering filing a patent application.
Explore online: Learn more about patents.
Episode 12: How can a CIPO IP advisor help you with your IP?

Date and length of podcast: March 2, 2022 17:42 min
Caroline Lefebvre, IP advisor, explains the free services and information offered by CIPO IP advisors across Canada.
CIPO IP advisors help SMEs and entrepreneurs understand the strategic value of their IP and can provide information and guidance for developing their business's IP strategy.
Explore online: Learn about IP in our online Discover IP course and use this checklist to explore the different types of IP you could exploit
Episode 11: How to play someone's music on-site and online

Date and length of podcast: February 16, 2022 25:48 min
James Leacock, Director of Royalty Collections at Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) explains how music composers and performers are paid and the steps to take to play music in online or in a business venue.
Explore online: Visit SOCAN (collects/distributes royalties for music creators and visual artists) Entandem (licensing of on-site music use).
Episode 10: Intellectual property in the Cannabis industry

Date and length of podcast: February 2, 2022 16:28 min
Catherine Lemay, assistant general counsel-IP at Hexo reveals how various IP rights are used in an industry that was created over night and also things to consider if you have an invention you think may be worth something.
Explore online: Educate yourself about IP and how to use it effectively.
Episode 9: Behind the scenes: Experiences (and hints) from a patent examiner

Date and length of podcast: January 19, 2022 13:04 min
Marie-Claude Gagnon, patent examiner at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, explains the examination process and why it's important to disclose the right amount of information at the start of the application process.
Explore online: Find an IP agent, Working at CIPO
Episode 8: How copyright works when we share things on social media

Date and length of podcast: January 5, 2022 25:21 min
A copyright lawyer at Bereskin & Parr LLP explains some of the complexities of copyright and sharing content on social media as well as ways to minimize the risk of infringing someone else's copyright.
Explore online: Learn more about copyright
Episode 7: How illustrators help applicants show how an invention works

Date and length of podcast: December 22, 2021 14:50 min
Darpan Patel, technical illustrator and former patent draftsman, explains the work involved in creating illustrations of designs and inventions.
Explore online: Search the patent database to view patents with illustrations
Episode 6: How to deal with pirate (fake) copies in the marketplace

Date and length of podcast: December 7, 2021 23:08 min
Lawyer Lorne Lipkus talks about the multi-faceted problems with pirate copies and what you can do to stop them. Professionals, parents and kids – we're all involved.
Explore online: Report illegal activities to Crimestoppers or contact the Canadian Anti-fraud CentreEpisode 5: How to protect your videogames

Date and length of podcast: November 24, 2021 30:42 min
Lawyer and trademark agent Michael Shortt explains the IP rights and associated contracts that form the cornerstones in the videogaming industry and some of the related laws and rights that videogames should be aware of.
Explore online: Video and computer games industry blog posts and bulletins from Michael and colleagues. To learn more about videogame publishing contracts, you can watch Mr. Shortt's presentation on that topic.
Episode 4: How to jumpstart intellectual property protection in Canada's artificial intelligence ecosystem

Date and length of podcast: October 29, 2021 16:02 min
In this episode, Todd Bailey, Chief IP Officer at the Scale AI supercluster reflects on some of the challenges and solutions related to IP protection in Canada's AI (artificial intelligence) ecosystem (and it's not IP).
Explore online: Check out Todd's blog IP Without Jargon for some straight talk and steps for protecting IP.
Episode 3: How to stop counterfeit products at the border

Date and length of podcast: October 29, 2021 12:16 min
Becky Illson-Skinner, Senior Program Advisor and Program and Policy Lead for the Intellectual Property Rights Program at the Canadian Border Services Agency, explains how the Canadian Border Services Agency helps IP rights holders stop counterfeit products at the Canadian border.
Explore online: File a request for assistance (from the Canadian Border Services Agency)
Episode 2: Protect your IP in Amazon stores

Date and length of podcast: October 29, 2021 17:49 min
In this episode, we discuss the importance of using an IP agent and the strategies to ensure your IP is protected and monetized. In this episode, Mary Beth Westmoreland Amazon's VP of Brand Protection, talks about what Amazon does to protect sellers and their IP against bad actors online and what new sellers need to know before they start selling their products online on amazon.ca.
Explore online: Protect your IP in Amazon stores (from amazon.ca)
Episode 1: Why use an IP agent?

Date and length of podcast: October 29, 2021 15:15 min
Patent and Trademark Agent Louis Martineau explains what IP agents help their clients with and answers some of the most common questions he gets as he helps his clients file for IP protection.
Explore online: Meeting with an IP Professional (from Intellectual Property Institute of Canada)