Smart & Biggar partners with Invest Ottawa to provide IP guidance to local innovators

Smart & Biggar is pleased to renew its partnership with Invest Ottawa, with a focus on empowering Ottawa entrepreneurs and innovators to leverage intellectual property (IP) for business success.

Since the beginning of the partnership three years ago, Smart & Biggar has connected with over 200 Ottawa entrepreneurs through quarterly IP Masterclasses and in one-on-one ‘IP Clinic’ consultations, hosted at Bayview Yards. Through the partnership, Smart & Biggar and Invest Ottawa have helped entrepreneurs gain momentum by using IP to grow their businesses, and in-turn contribute to economic growth and job creation in the national capital region.

"Intellectual property plays an increasingly critical role for Canadian companies in scaling their businesses to compete both domestically and world-wide. Now more than ever, entrepreneurs need to understand how to leverage their IP,” said Elliott Simcoe, National Practice Group Leader for Patents & Technology at Smart & Biggar. "Ottawa is a national hub for technology and innovation. Working with emerging companies to raise their awareness of IP issues and opportunities benefits our whole economy."

Michael Tremblay, President and CEO of Invest Ottawa and Bayview Yards said, “We are proud to foster opportunities for Smart & Biggar to share such valuable content with our entrepreneurial network. As regional companies grow and scale, developing industry leading procedures and practices around intellectual property can better help Ottawa companies identify value, mitigate risks and gain knowledge that can set our companies apart from the competition. This renewed agreement ensures that the IP best practices and guidance offered to our network are best-in-class.”

Nazim Ahmed, Founder & CEO of Creative Layer & CanvasPop, has worked with Smart & Biggar as a participant in Invest Ottawa’s Scale-Up Program. The program, designed to rapidly and systematically accelerate the development and commercial success of high growth technology firms, engages founders to create a scalable and globally competitive technology company.

"Our team was introduced to Smart & Biggar to evaluate what type of protection we would need from an IP perspective for our new technology platform Creative Layer,” Said Ahmed regarding his experience with Smart & Biggar. “What I truly valued was the time they took to meet with our engineers and understand both the technology in depth and all the potential use cases for the platform.  This deep analysis allowed them to deliver high quality work and achieve a positive outcome on the IP.  I couldn't be happier with my experience and I look forward to continuing to work with them as our needs increase in complexity."

The various programs hosted by Smart & Biggar at Bayview Yards have provided a wealth of valuable insight into IP topics such as asset valuation, strategy for software and brand protection. These topics represent insights and education that Ottawa entrepreneurs and innovators need to evolve and grow, and value that Invest Ottawa can present as part of its partnership with Smart & Biggar.

About Smart & Biggar

Widely recognized as Canada’s leading firm for intellectual property, Smart & Biggar is the largest firm focused purely on IP and related specialty areas. The firm’s experience working with thousands of companies on all aspects of intellectual property, from procurement of patents and trademarks to strategic enforcement and portfolio management, combined with deep knowledge and expertise across a wide range of technologies and industries, provides Invest Ottawa members with access to the highest calibre of IP counsel to leverage and maximize IP opportunities for growth in their business.

At Smart & Biggar, we have the honour of working with many of Canada’s and the world’s most important innovators and brand owners. We are proud to have supported our clients on the road to market leadership — from start-up companies in emerging growth sectors to multinational corporations, as well as innovators at universities and other research institutions – advising them on their most critical and complex IP matters with the full benefit of our unrivaled IP experience and expertise.

For media inquiries on Smart & Biggar, contact: Jenn Dumaran, Communications Specialist, Smart & Biggar. jdumaran@smartbiggar.ca

About Invest Ottawa

Invest Ottawa is the lead economic development agency for knowledge-based industries in Canada's Capital, facilitating economic growth and job creation in the City of Ottawa. Guided by a vision to help realize Ottawa's full potential as a globally recognized, innovative and future-ready city, Invest Ottawa delivers venture development, global expansion and talent programs and services that catalyze the growth and success of entrepreneurs and firms. These include small business training, mentorship, acceleration for technology firms, foreign business and investment attraction, local business retention and expansion in targeted sectors, commercialization, and marketing Ottawa's diversified economy and high quality of life. Invest Ottawa is also the founder and manager of the Area X.O, the futureplex of innovation and collaboration. Since 2012, Invest Ottawa has worked with thousands of entrepreneurs and companies; helped firms attract more than $666 million in capital; contributed to the creation of more than 9,714 jobs; and attracted $862 million in domestic and foreign investment. For additional information, please visit: www.investottawa.ca

For information on Invest Ottawa & Bayview Yards, contact:  Patrick Kenny, Director of Marketing and Communications. pkenny@investottawa.ca