Industry committee  If a business acquires a patent under licence that was developed in a university, it generates revenue, adds value and creates jobs. If the patented invention subsequently enhances the quality of life for Canadians and Quebeckers, society benefits. It really depends on the type of invention that is patented.

Industry committee  I am currently conducting research on the openness of innovation in the aerospace industry. We are trying to see the extent to which innovation is open in the product development process. You mentioned other types of intellectual property. Of course, secrecy is still very much a factor in the aerospace industry.

Industry committee  I personally feel that it is important to maintain funding for what is called “blue sky research”, meaning research that can go anywhere and find anything. I have seen you all with your BlackBerrys this morning. Maxwell's equations form the basis for the transmission of electronic signals.

Industry committee  I'll just make a quick note that in our study of biotechnology we have looked at the various incentive mechanisms that have been put in place by the various universities in Canada. On the number of patents that the different universities have, we find no impact depending on the incentive structures they have, such as depending on whether the IP belongs entirely to the professor, or whether the IP belongs to the university or it's shared, and as for who pays for the patenting or whatever, we find no difference.

Industry committee  It is difficult to do beforehand, but it can be easily measured after the fact. There are various indicators for measuring the quality of patents. The first is the number of claims on the patent. That shows the scope of the various applications of the patent. To find out the number of citations of a patent, you have to wait until other patents have quoted it.

Industry committee  I'm on the promotion committee at École Polytechnique de Montréal and it is not very well seen if someone has, for three years, a patent application and no publications whatsoever because they don't want to compromise the patent. Academics need to keep other research on track at the same time as they're filing a patent.

Industry committee  I think at the moment there's an incentive, probably from a lot of venture capitalists who want to have something to sell as their exit strategy when they capitalize on the company they have invested in.... Companies decide that if they want to get venture capital, then they need to get patents.

Industry committee  I wouldn't say it's an ideal number; it's just the number we're finding in our research. It might evolve if we examine the same data in 10 years. It might drop down to 50 or 80, if we put in place the supports that will help the firms get more out of their intellectual property and it doesn't jeopardize either their growth or their survival.

Industry committee  Good morning. I trust you have received my text in French and then you have a translation in English. Yes. So I am going to continue in French. My position is slightly different from my colleagues'. As a user of patent data for my research, I have two topics to speak to you about this morning.