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Parliamentary Testimony on IP and Innovation

2012-05-11T17:57:01Z

I'm honoured that Parliament's Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology invited me to speak about the role of intellectual property in Canada's innovation system. My testimony comes in the context of the Committee's new study on this topic, described in the Committee motion as:

a study of the effectiveness of the current intellectual property regime in Canada, which will include the important role of intellectual property in fostering Canadian innovation and leading edge technology.

More details about the hearing, taking place on Tuesday, May 15 from 08h45 - 10h45, are available here in the Notice of Meeting. A few further details about the Committee and the IP study are here.

Entrepreneurship and Open Innovation in North Africa

2012-04-16T10:40:31Z

The Future of Open Innovation through Access to Knowledge in Africa

I'm honoured to be speaking at the 2012 AUC Research Conference, Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Shaping the Future of Egypt, co-hosted by the School of Business and the School of Sciences and Engineering at the American University in Cairo, April 17-19 at AUC Tahrir Square and AUC New Campus.

Open innovation is one of the hottest buzzwords in business circles, and as a result, science and technology policy makers around the world are catching on to the trend. On some levels, the concept of open innovation is clear -- it involves engaging consumers, or even would-be competitors, as collaborators to develop and deploy new technologies, systems or processes. But tapping into such community-driven opportunities means giving up a good deal of control. It requires re-thinking the role of conventional knowledge management strategies, especially concerning intellectual property rights.

How can private sector firms and public research organizations adapt to this changing environment? What lessons can African innovators learn from the experiences of entrepreneurs, or public policy makers, in the developed world? Maybe more importantly, what can Egyptian and other North African entrepreneurs teach the world about leveraging access to knowledge to empower communities of innovators creating shared social and economic value?

This invited conference lecture addresses these and related questions to explain how the future of open innovation in Africa depends on intellectual property systems that enable various modes of access to knowledge.

Measuring Impacts of S&T Policy and IP Management

2012-03-22T14:45:49Z

The mandate of the Assistant Deputy Ministers' Committee on Science & Technology is to provide the government with the capacity to deliver on the collective responsibility for policy coordination and management of federal S&T. My presentation to the ADMCST on March 22, 2012 focusses on the methods and metrics that we use to measure the impacts of S&T policies and intellectual property management practices.

Among the metrics currently used to rank Canadian innovation in the global context, intellectual property rights play a substantial role. These output indicators ostensibly reflect the ability of organizations sponsoring or conducting scientific research to commercialize ideas, for the economic benefit of all Canadians. Intellectual property rights, and the licensing revenues they sometimes generate, are undeniably important considerations, and I'm in no way suggesting the contrary. Unfortunately, however, IP-related indicators fall short of fairly characterizing actual outcomes of innovation policy. As assessment tools they are too complex and ambiguous to provide an accurate representation of economic value. And economic unreliability aside, they provide at best an incomplete picture of the real-world, human impacts of innovation.

In order to obtain the best possible information on which to base public policies and management practices, we ought to use not simply quantitative econometrics, but the fullest possible range of data, including salient, credible and legitimate qualitative research. A holistic range of empirical indicators would track not just aggregated statistics, but also narratives of dynamic human behaviour. After all, human impact is what innovation policy is really about.

Measuring the Impact of S&T Policies and IP Management on Innovation on Prezi

Special acknowledgement for funding to support this research goes to the University of Ottawa, Genome Canada via Genome Prairie to VALGEN, to SSHRC, and to IDRC for its generous support of the Open African Innovation Research (Open AIR) project.

Re-thinking Innovation

2012-01-29T01:17:40Z

Innovation? What innovation? Re-thinking progress and how we measure it

There’s so much buzz about innovation and science and technology and productivity. But, what do we really mean by these terms? What does progress look like? How will we know when we’re doing better? How can we best promote innovation, which by definition is rarely predictable and often disruptive?

On January 31, 2012, I delivered the Canadian Federation for Humanities and Social Sciences' Big Thinking lecture on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. I explained why effective decision-making in a dynamic environment of tech-driven global knowledge networks requires us to think differently about science and technology and how we measure success. My talk drew on experiences from current Canadian and international research projects and my expertise in intellectual property, international trade and technology to demonstrate creative ways of assessing the human impact of innovation policy.

Innovation. What Innovation? Re-thinking Progress ... and how we measure it. on Prezi

This Big Thinking lecture was organized in partnership with the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.

The lecture was covered by the media in this University Affairs article, and this report at iPolitics.ca.

Property Law for Fall 2011

2011-09-06T17:22:13Z

During the Fall of 2011 I'll once again be teaching an introduction to property law. An overview of the course is mapped out on the "syllabus" below.

Introduction to Property Law on Prezi

Click here to access the course webpages on this site. See you in the classroom soon!

Short course on IP & Sustainable Development

2011-06-06T14:25:22Z

This week Tuesday and Wednesday I'm in Washington to teach a short seminar on intellectual property and sustainable development. The course is part of the Washington College of Law at American University's summer program on international IP. Details about my course are here online on the course's webpage; click through the arrows or scroll around the map for a visual overview.

Lecture: How Courts Control Our Crops

2011-03-21T17:03:05Z

Today I'm delivering a public lecture on the topic, "Judging Biotech: How Courts Control Our Crops," at the University of Saskatchewan's College of Law. Everyone is welcome. Here are the details:

Monday, March 21, 2011

12:00 p.m.

MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman LLP Lecture Theatre

Room 150

College of Law

Public Lecture: Trade, Federalism & Tech Policy

2010-10-28T15:25:15Z

Today I'm delivering a public lecture through the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, where I'm spending a sabbatical as Diefenbaker Policy Fellow. Here's the abstract.

Canada and the European Union are in the midst of intense negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, the so-called “CETA.” If and when completed, this path-breaking pact could go beyond any existing trade agreement, perhaps setting a new standard for international economic relations. In order to achieve ambitious goals for policy convergence and regulatory cooperation, this unique policymaking process has directly involved the federal and all provincial governments across Canada. Professor Jeremy de Beer’s lecture will look through the lens of biotechnology and information communications to shed light on key legal issues stemming from the implementation of such new public policies.

Here is a video recording of the event, and a copy of my presentation:

Trade, Federalism & Tech Policy on Prezi

Thursday, October 28, 2010

10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Please note that this lecture will take place in Saskatoon and will be

video-conferenced to a Regina audience.

Saskatoon location:

University of Saskatchewan Campus

Education Building, Studio B (lower level)

Regina location*:

JSGS Window Room, 2nd Floor, Gallery Building

University of Regina, College Avenue Campus

Book is out: Access to Knowledge in Africa

2010-08-06T17:04:02Z

Following three years of empirical research in eight different countries throughout Africa, I'm thrilled to be a member of the team that has produced a new, pathbreaking book: "Access to Knowledge in Africa: The Role of Copyright." The book is available for purchase in hard copy from University of Cape Town Press, or openly accessible online from a variety of sources. It will soon be archived in IDRC's digital library; meanwhile you can download it from the ACA2K Project's website, or the LINK Centre at Wits University.