ElevateIP Alberta gives you access to the education, support, and resources you need to protect your startup’s IP and grow your business.
ElevateIP Alberta is delivered in partnership by Innovate Calgary and Economic Development Lethbridge. Our core mission is to help founders understand, leverage, and protect their intellectual property with the support of business accelerators and incubators (BAIs) and Ecosystem Navigators (ENs).
As a startup, safeguarding your IP is crucial for staying competitive. It prevents others from copying your ideas, builds your brand, attracts investors, and can generate revenue through partnerships.
Protecting your IP is the foundation for long-term success.
An IP strategy aligns a company’s unique assets with its business goals, ensuring they drive value, minimize risks, and leverage market opportunities. By understanding what sets your business apart, you can develop assets and processes that enhance your competitive advantage and overall success.
In this phase of your IP journey, collaborating with an IP expert is essential to uncover opportunities and address vulnerabilities. A well-developed IP strategy focuses on long-term success rather than immediate implementation.
IP strategy initiatives may include:
Note: Access to maximum funding is not guaranteed; it depends on a thorough evaluation of the request and demonstrated need.
This phase involves taking actionable steps to protect and strengthen your IP. Not all businesses reach this stage, as they may find they are not ready or the need is not yet clear.
IP implementation initiatives may include:
Note: Access to maximum funding is not guaranteed; funding of up to $100,000 covers both IP strategy and implementation. All projects must be completed within 90 days.
Educate startups and business accelerators and incubators (BAIs) on how to align business and IP strategies to enhance access to IP support and promote the sharing of best practices.
Empower underrepresented groups by leveraging our ecosystem navigators (ENs) to provide IP support, fostering greater accessibility and inclusivity.
Elevate Albertan startups with customized IP support, driving rapid scaling, and fostering sustainable growth.
IP refers to a category of legally recognized rights that are granted to individuals or entities for their creations or inventions. These rights are designed to protect and incentivize innovation and creativity. IP are creations of the mind.
For example, IP can refer to inventions, artistic works, symbols, designs, names, images, software, manufacturing processes, and much more. There are several types of IP such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, industrial designs, and informal IP.
Our application process consists of several stages, each with its own timeline:
This timeline ensures that each stage is thorough and supports the successful development and protection of your intellectual property.
Once accepted into the program, you may receive funding for two phases:
ElevateIP Alberta provides educational opportunities geared toward enhancing IP knowledge within the ecosystem. Online education modules and workshops are offered at no cost and are open to all interested individuals. Please note that ElevateIP Alberta funding is only available to applicants who have been accepted into the program.
ElevateIP Alberta is part of a national program. If you are not based in Alberta and do not meet this requirement, please check with your regional ElevateIP program.
ElevateIP Alberta is unable to fund the following: taxes or costs associated with taxes, litigation costs, ongoing licensing fees, infringement-related costs, costs associated with the repayment of existing debt, the purchase of assets, entertainment expenses, and fines or penalties.
ElevateIP Alberta maintains a curated list of approved vendors to support your IP needs. If you’re working with an IP agent or lawyer, you may invite them to apply to join the ElevateIP Alberta program. While we welcome applications, we cannot guarantee that your service provider will meet our program criteria. We encourage them to connect with us through our contact page for more information.
Please note that all IP strategy services must be delivered by an Alberta-based provider, while IP implementation services may be completed by non-Alberta providers upon approval.
Accessing ElevateIP Alberta funding does not require direct payment from companies. However, there may be indirect costs associated with preparing the necessary application documents, such as hiring a lawyer to verify or create a CAP table.
Additionally, entrepreneurs are responsible for covering applicable taxes and contributing a co-investment amount of 10-35% for IP implementation activities.
