Thank you for the question. I think the reason we and others suggest a focus on SMEs is that we know they are a driver of job growth. They grow more quickly than their start-up counterparts or their multinational counterparts. In our context, we think of them as the gazelles, those that are on a large growth trajectory.
The challenge they often have is the lack of a sophisticated understanding of their IP as an asset and of how to manage it creatively. Often, as soon as they cross the border and try to start doing business in the U.S., they're surprised, shocked even, by patent litigation. They are caught flat-footed often.
I think organizations like ours can certainly play a role in helping educate the SMEs and the individual entrepreneurs. I think there's not a lot of education in place at the university level to help companies understand what happens when their IP strategy goes awry. I think there's an opportunity for us to act as partners as we try to seek a solution to help small-sized and medium-sized enterprises.
Two of the largest issues that companies say they have in patent protection—my colleague from Mitacs referred to them—are the cost and also the speed with which they can obtain these things. If there are measures we can take to alleviate those two items, I think that would go a long way toward helping mid-sized companies really protect their IP.