LES Montreal Chapter Events

By Martin Couillard, Advisor at the Research and Knowledge Transfer Office of HEC Montréal

Canada, and more particularly Quebec, has been the scene in recent years of an historic effervescence with regard to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). This effervescence is first rooted in the university environment where Québec has excelled for several decades in AI and related fields. Adding to this very active research community, the technology giants have opened AI laboratories in Montreal, while the AI-related start-ups and enterprises are on the rise. Moreover, private and public funding is also there to back this ecosystem.

In this context, the Licensing Executive Society's (LES) Montreal chapter organized two recent events in February and April, and supported a major Symposium in May on these topics, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, Virtual Reality (VR), Internet of Things (IoT) and Blockchain.

Intellectual Property Challenged by Emerging Technologies

This series of LES Montreal's events started by an expert panel discussion in February entitled: "Intellectual property challenged by emerging technologies: IoT, VR, Blockchain, AI—Paradigm Shift?" The discussions were about the disruption of traditional concepts of inventiveness, originality, creation and ownership of rights. Also discussed was the impact of integrating IP elements into a virtual world, particularly with respect to trademarks, as well as on the potential applications of Blockchain in the field of IP.

The event was held at the Desjardins lab in Montreal, an innovation lab of "Mouvement Desjardins." More than 80 people from various backgrounds and fields were registered. Before the panel discussion, a brief introduction was given by Caroline Pernelle, director of partnerships of the Institute for Data Valorization (IVADO), about the recent momentum that is building for the city to become the global hub for data science expertise in both private and academic sectors. IVADO is a collaboration between the universities Polytechnique, Université de Montréal, and HEC Montreal, with the objective of bringing together industry professionals and academic researchers to develop cutting-edge expertise in data science, operational research and artificial intelligence

Ismael Coulibaly, lawyer and trademark agent at Benoit & Côté, led the panel discussion, which was composed of Rodrigo Vergara, Chief Evangelist at Genius & iAmGeniusVR; Eamon Leonard, Blockchain strategy consultant at Leadweb; and Paul Gagnon, IP/IT Legal Counsel at Element AI.

The panel opened with an overview of Branded Content Creation and VR/AR given by Rodrigo Vergara. He made a quick overview of a few IP related issues and the challenges raised by VR content with respect to trademarks, copyright and personality rights, where the interaction between real and virtual worlds imposes drawing a line to define property boundaries and ownership. The question on how are Real-World IP Rights treated within a virtual environment was discussed. Conversely, the question of how are Virtual-World IP Rights treated in the real world was also addressed.

Next, the panel focused on another important emerging technology, the Blockchain, with a presentation given by Eamon Leonard, who is very active in the Blockchain community. He acts as a Global Strategy Advisor at the Blockchain Association of Canada, as well as VP Marketing at Leadweb and Timechain. He has also managed communications for the first regulatory-compliant ICO in North America, "Impak Coin."

His presentation included some applications of the Blockchain technology in the field of IP rights. An example was given about the priority of invention, where a patent application can be registered on a Blockchain with an immutable timestamp to prove that the inventor was the first who came up with this idea. Interestingly, this technology can provide selective transparency to control the public disclosure of an invention, as only an encrypted digital signature, called hash, is actually stored on the Blockchain.

Lastly, Paul Gagnon took the floor to discuss about legal challenges surrounding these new technologies. He presented the notion of computer-assisted creation and the originator of intellectual property by giving the examples of a Beatles song made by AI and a brand-new Rembrandt 3D printed by AI. He also talked about open-source licenses and how they are fundamental for the community.

The take-home message was that innovation on these emerging technologies often involves collaboration. The value of these innovations resides mainly in the data rather than in the algorithm itself. Nevertheless, the real value is also in the know-how. As a result, this new reality might change the way of thinking of IP practitioners.

The panel discussion was followed by a cocktail reception where guests and speakers mingled and discussed while enjoying specially selected wines of Belleruche Côtes-du-Rhône, generously provided by M. Chapoutier. The event was also sponsored by Desjardins lab (https://www.desjardins.com/ca/co-opme/action-plans-tips/desjardins-lab/index.jsp) and IVADO (https://ivado.ca/en/).

Intellectual Property in the Supply Chain

For its April event, the LES Montreal chapter organized a Lunch & Learn conference entitled: "Intellectual property in the supply chain in the age of Industry 4.0". More than 40 people were registered to attend this event that was generously sponsored by Norton Rose Fulbright and held in its downtown Montreal office.

The keynote speaker was Hugues Foltz, entrepreneur and consultant in breakthrough innovation and Industry 4.0, who discussed why or why not we should use artificial intelligence in a supply chain. The discussion took the form of a Q & A session led by Louis Gratton, an attorney and trademark agent of Norton Rose Fulbright.

Legal issues related to data access, collection and use were addressed. Business strategies were discussed for gathering a great quantity and quality of data, by focusing first on the quantity. "If you manage to crash one of your servers, it is a sign that you have collected enough data!"

Then came the question of ownership of the data that appears to be more important to manage when compared to managing the algorithms themselves (who are constantly evolving and changing). The issue of the value of the data over the algorithm resonated through the presentation. Controlling the access of your data by third parties is key. A comparison was made with the introduction into the market of the "Software as a Service" (SaaS) concept, in which the data is stored in the Cloud. Companies seem more and more open to the idea of having their CRM data not stored on their own servers.

Finally, tips were offered to facilitate the gradual integration of AI into a supply chain by starting with small pilot projects (in collaboration with a consultant or a university researcher), where a data scientist might be hired later on.

IP Licensing in AI and Data Science

On May 17, 2018, a major Symposium on Licensing in Artificial Intelligence and Data Sciences (www.licensingai.com) was organised in Montreal by HEC Montréal, Polytechnique Montréal, Université de Montréal, Univalor and IVADO. The LES Montreal chapter was a proud supporter of this event, where more than 400 people were registered.

This symposium aimed to promote IP licensing in artificial intelligence and data sciences. The participants learned about best strategies for data sharing, IP protection, licensing and collaboration (open source, patent, data licensing, copyright, trade secret). Worth mentioning, presentations on licensing strategies and approaches used at different universities were given, including an inspiring keynote given by Daniel Dardani from the MIT Technology Licensing Office.

Ultimately, the expectation is that all these conferences helped to develop IP licensing strategies that promote a sustainable ecosystem locally, and nationally. In Quebec, the LES Montreal Chapter and the Quebec City chapter will continue to be active players in this ecosystem by providing relevant conferences and networking opportunities.

The February Montreal event held at the Desjardins lab (360° picture generously provided by IAMGENIUS VR).

LES Montreal chapter executive members, (L-R), Tommy Kenny (IntelGenx), Véronique Bougie (Mperia Therapeutics), Martin Couillard (HEC Montréal), Christine Martens (Aligo Innovation) and Nicholas Bertram (Anglehart et al.), absent from picture.