Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My first question is to Mr. Geist, and it's a general comment. Many good points were brought up in the opening presentations. One thing I didn't hear, though, that stifles innovation concerns the U.S. patent lawsuits.
I used to work for a software company before being elected. The company I worked for was a 150-employee outfit that had started to really put the boots to the U.S. competition. And they were sued in the southeast district of Texas for patent infringement. They were one of the lucky ones. They actually came to a resolution so they could continue with business.
How can young Canadian firms protect their intellectual property and do business in the U.S.? That's where many of the new businesses are going to grow their companies. So how can they do that? How can we help them? What can we do?