17:00-
19:00

FPTT Annual Meeting Registration

17:00-
19:00

Welcoming Reception (Tradewinds Bar/Harbour Suites A/B)

Guest Speaker: Dealing with Disruptive Technologies: How CTI Can Help (Brad Ashton, Senior Program Manager, Technology Transfer, Concurrent Technologies Corporation)

The sudden and unanticipated emergence of new technologies can completely “change the game” in competitive markets. This presentation will describe the problem of disruptive technologies and show how competitive technical intelligence (CTI) can help organizations manage their risks through unique data gathering and technical and business early warning. A basic CTI process for tracking technology will be presented along with examples of its use in companies where technology surprise is an important business risk.

NOTE

For accompanying people who would like to see some of the sites while in Halifax but do not want to visit them alone, please meet in the hotel lobby Thursday morning at 10:00 a.m.

Coordinator: Denise LeBlanc, Institute for Marine Biosciences, National Research Council Canada

07:45-
08:30

Registration and Continental Breakfast

FPTT Annual Meeting Moderator: Denise LeBlanc, Institute for Marine Biosciences, National Research Council Canada

08:30-
08:40

Welcome and Opening remarks (Jeet Hothi, Manager, Technology Transfer, Communications Research Centre Canada and Chair, FPTT National Committee) – Commonwealth Room A

08:40-
09:15

Keynote Address

Building World Class Canadian High Technology Companies (Denzil J. Doyle, Chairman, Capital Alliance Ventures)

Canada has a good infrastructure for creating high technology companies but very few of them become world-class multinational companies. A high percentage of them get sold to foreign buyers who integrate them into their world-wide operations.

A new approach to the financing of mature companies may be needed to grow them into Canadian-based multinational companies.

09:15-
10:15

Panel Session – Strategies for building linkages for exploiting technologies

The strategic and political relevance of technological innovation in Canada has become increasingly evident. While Canada is strong in scientific output, its commercial and innovative performance could be improved. We need to find better ways to efficiently identify new and marketable technologies and develop strategies for building the linkages needed to effectively exploit these technologies. The following presentations and discussions will highlight what works and what doesn't as well as examine some of the issues and challenges facing public sector research organizations and private sector companies.

Moderator: Bev Sheridan, President, Technology NOW

Panel Members

• Mike Walker, Director, Business Relations Office, National Research Council Canada
• Dave King, President and CEO, Genesis Group
• Piotr Waclaweck, President and CEO, NavSim Technology Inc.
• Denzil J. Doyle, Chairman, Capital Alliance Ventures

10:15-
10:45

Networking, Refreshments and Exhibits (Commonwealth Room B)

10:45-
11:40

Panel Session – Strategies for building linkages for expoliting technologies (cont’d) – Commonwealth Room A

11:40-
12:00

Characteristics of Firms that Grow from Small to Medium Size
(Denise Guillemette, Policy Analyst, Industrial Research Assistance Program, National Research Council Canada)

In Canada, only a small percentage of firms move from small to medium size. However, there is evidence that medium-sized firms perform better and have a bigger impact on the Canadian economy. As such, there is an increasing need to improve our knowledge about how firms grow from small to medium-size.

This presentation will provide an overview of the key findings of a collaborative project was undertaken by Statistics Canada and the National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program. The project's objective was to increase knowledge about the internal and external factors surrounding the growth of firms in that very important phase of moving from small to medium size. Analysis was done using Statistics Canada's databases and qualitative data from interviews carried out with firms that have made the transition from small to medium size. Findings show that there are significant differences between high growth small firms and non-high growth small firms.

12:00-
13:30

Luncheon – Guest Speaker (Atlantic Ballroom)

Commons, Networks, and Technology Transfer (Gerald Barnett, Office for the Management of Intellectual Property, University of California)

Public science and entrepreneurship are at odds over control of information. Science argues for placing new information in the commons. Entrepreneurship seeks proprietary controls as a way to attract investment and develop market value for new technology. We need methods to manage intellectual property that permit public access to information while preserving commercial investment opportunities. Doing so involves a broad approach to intangible assets, using concepts drawn from social networks and open architectures in addition to conventional attention to inventions and patents.

13:30-
14:00

Facilitating Technology Transfer for Universities and Laboratories (Clifford Gross, Founder and CEO, UTEK Corporation) – Commonwealth Room A

A new market-driven approach to technology transfer is described that enables public companies to more rapidly acquire technologies from universities and research laboratories in exchange for their equity, while allowing research/inventing institutions to enjoy 100% of the royalties. Experience with 27 technology transfers will be summarized. Discussion of the marketplace factors surrounding technology transfer and how to address them in a time and cost efficient manner.

14:00-
14:30

Developing Channels to Commercialization (Robert Crawhall, President, National Capital Institute of Telecommunications)

The vast majority of technology commercialization successes do not follow a simple linear progression from idea to product and then product to market. Rather, there is typically a complex process of channel development between the market, the product and the technology that is critical to long term success. In this presentation Robert Crawhall will describe the interplay of publicly funded research with small, medium and large businesses. He will pay particular attention to challenges facing small companies today as they try to market information technology solutions to markets other than telecommunications service providers.

14:30-
16:00

How Competitive Technical Intelligence Can Help You Find New Technologies, Potential Partners or Licensees. This session will highlight tools and techniques that will help maximize your competitive advantage.

Selling Your Technology – How to Target Licensees and Create Demand for Your Technology (Derek Nuhn, Senior Vice President and COO, Semiconductor Insights)

From the world of high-stakes technology licensing, Derek Nuhn will share his experiences and the best practises of his clients that create bidding wars for patents and generate licensing revenues in the billions of dollars per year. From his experience in the company that changed the way semiconductor licensing was done during the '90's, Mr. Nuhn will describe the combination of deep industry knowledge and innovative investigative techniques that can be applied to any patented technology.

Several case studies of what to do - and what not to do - as well as how lateral thinking can dramatically increase the value of your technology will be discussed. Licensees are not found with searches on the internet - learn how to specifically target and strongly motivate organizations to embrace your tech transfer programs.

The Patent Searcher's Dilemma: Where is the Value? Free Internet Databases versus Subscription Databases... (Ron Simmer, CEO, PATSCAN, a service of PATEX Research and Consulting Limited)

A wealth of competitive intelligence opportunities in patents and the free patent databases on the Internet are an extremely useful research resource. However, they have limitations, and there are subject areas and situations when they should not be trusted. Aside from free Internet databases, there are powerful fixed-price subscription database services, such as Delphion and Micropatent, that may provide cost efficient answers when compared to those of Derwent or Chemical abstracts. This presentation will cover the strengths and limitations of the most popular free Internet patent databases and compare cost efficiencies of the fee based search resources. Learn when and how to do your own search and what is needed to obtain the best results from a professional searcher.

Extracting Intelligence from Patent Data Using Wisdomain's Focust Solution
(Jean Archambeault, Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, National Research Council Canada)

Using statistical analysis and visualization tools on patent data is now an integral part of any technological intelligence activity. After evaluating many products, CISTI adopted Wisdomain's Focust solution as its patent intelligence platform to offer services to internal and external clients. This presentation will be divided into two parts. The first part will offer a brief overview of the Focust Web and Analysis module in order to provide participants with an introduction to Focust's functionalities and capabilities. The second part will focus on the analysis results obtained during a real case study, revealing the power of this tool and its benefits for those involved in technology transfer.

17:00-
18:00

FPTT Awards Reception (Atlantic Foyer)

18:00-
21:00

FPTT Awards Ceremony and Dinner (Atlantic Ballroom)

Masters of Ceremony
Ron Freedman, Impact Group
and
Yvan Hardy, Chief Scientis, Natural Resources Canada

Opening Remarks

07:45-
08:30

Registration and Continental Breakfast

08:30-
08:35

Summary of findings from day one (Denise LeBlance, National Meeting Moderator) – Commonwealth Room A

08:35-09:00

Promoting Technology to Industry (Pierre Meloche, Industrial Research Assistance Program, National Research Council Canada)

The presentation will highlight, from a federal laboratory perspective, the steps required to attract and secure a potential licensee. By understanding the factors influencing the licensor/licensee, we will then review techniques and tools including electronic databases that are used in technology transfer. Sharing of best practices and participation from the audience will be encouraged.

09:00-09:15

Online Technology Marketplaces and Technology Brokers - Insights on How They Can Work for You (Denise Lalanne, Nova Universities Technology Inc.)

09:15-
09:45

Turning Straw Into Gold: How to Leverage Networks and Next Generation Practices to Improve Tech Transfer Results (Bob de Wit, Technology Transfer Consultant, University of British Columbia)

Online licensing of publicly funded research outcomes is an emerging and important area in technology transfer. Tools like Flintbox, that leverage physical and social networks, promises to improve access to research and expand the domain of possible intellectual property transfers. Historically, universities and government labs have relied upon a "Patent-License" model of technology transfer. This talk outlines how this model breaks down for most form of invention, and more importantly, how new approaches like Flintbox can lead to improved innovation among Canadian companies, particularly SMEs.

09:45-
10:15

Networking, Refreshments and Exhibits Commonwealth Room B

10:15-
11:15

Technology Marketing and Commercialization in the New Century (Commonwealth Room A)

Atlantic Region Pilot Project - A Partnership that Links AAFC Research to Receptor Companies (Roy Bush, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)

Technology developed through research in Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada labs in Atlantic Canada has traditionally been focused on the direct and diverse needs of primary producers in the region, and as such has been transferred directly to producers through their commodity associations and provincial extension programs. The need for a significant commercialization and marketing effort to move those technologies to business firms did not warrant dedicated staff at any of the Centres in the Atlantic Region. This presentation will provide an overview of a highly innovative and novel approach to link the AAFC scientific staff and resources with firms able to generate business from technical knowledge that was developed and implemented through a partnership between AAFC, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program.

An Integrated Approach to Commercialization (Janet Scholz, University-Industry Liaison Office, University of Manitoba)

The University of Manitoba has instituted a novel series of programs which together form an integrated approach to commercialization. One of the challenges of being a mid-size University in a prairie province is access to resources and capital supporting commercialization of research. To overcome some of these challenges, it was important to structure programs which would include the business community at a very early stage in making decisions related to the future of specific inventions and then engaging them in advancing those opportunities. In addition, with a relatively small population, but significant research facilities, it was in the best interest of the Province of Manitoba for the research institutions to come together in facilitating the successful movement of technologies from the laboratory to the marketplace. CAG, VentureBox, Incubat and Springboard are some of the mechanisms in place at University of Manitoba and its partners in Intellectual Property Management. An overview of these programs including their successes and challenges will be provided. A look to the future and the importance of partnerships will also be discussed.

11:15-
11:45

Marketing of Licensing-out Opportunities (Dave Tyrrell, Vertex Intellectual Property Strategies Inc.)

11:45-
12:15

Licensing versus Ownership: Does Ownership Really Make a Difference? (Catherine Eckenswiller, Smart & Biggar/Fetherstonhaugh)

This presentation will compare the rights of owners of intellectual property to the rights of licensees, both at common law and pursuant to legislation. The discussion will include a review of the differences between Canadian law and U.S. law in this area. In addition, the particular challenges presented by co-ownership of intellectual property will be discussed with an emphasis on certain unique issues in Canadian law. Practical strategies will be reviewed for maximizing the rights, and minimizing the risks, of licensees through the use of contractual provisions in license agreements.

12:15-
13:40

Luncheon – Guest Speaker (Atlantic Ballroom)
How can Canada Capitalize on its Investments in Research
(Michael Raymont, Acting President, National Research Council Canada)

If Canada is to turn around what the Conference Board of Canada has termed our "gentle decline relative to our peers", now is the time to make strategic policy choices to define and secure Canada's advantage. We must capitalize on our investments in research. This talk will look at the need for a comprehensive approach to technology innovation and commercialization dedicated to the development of high growth firms that create highly skilled jobs, produce competitive products and services, penetrate international markets, and create wealth for Canada.

13:40-
13:45

Closing Remarks (Denise LeBlanc, FPTT Annual Meeting Moderator)

13:45-
17:15

Tours of Key Halifax Research Facilities (Hotel Lobby)

Delegates must indicate on the Annual Meeting Registration form that they are interested in going on the tour.

Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

The Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO) is Canada's largest center for ocean research and first major federal center devoted to oceanography. Four government departments, inhabiting its 40 acre campus, perform targeted research mandated by government or in partnership, advise on marine environments including fisheries and offshore hydrocarbon resources, provide navigational charts for waters from Georges Bank to the Canadian Arctic, and respond to environmental emergencies.

Participants will be accompanied by a bilingual tour guide around a series of wall panels describing research at BIO. Their Titanic exhibit boasts a model of what the Titanic now looks like on the ocean floor and images from the 1991 expedition. The latest technology in seafloor mapping can be found at BIO! 3-D multibeam images have been used to find the wreckage from the SwissAir disaster. These images have many more potential applications and can even be used to determine fish habitat. Take a virtual reality tour of the Sable Gully, learn about the Grey Seals of Sable Island and deep sea corals located off our coast. Other educational exhibits highlight species of conservation concern within Maritime waters and a simulation of a ship's bridge.

Institute for Marine Biosciences, National Research Council Canada

The Marine Biosciences (IMB) is an integrated systems biology institute with the capability to study life from the level of the genome to the whole organism. Our multidisciplinary approach targets three core areas: Aquaculture, Natural Marine Toxins and Advanced Research Technologies and our expertise includes bioinformatics, finfish and shellfish health and nutrition, functional genomics, metabolomics, and proteomics. We will be touring IMB's brand new, 30, 000 ft2 industry partnership facility as well as a selection of our technology platform laboratories including: Mass Spectrometry, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance imaging, Microscopy, DNA Sequencing and the Canadian Bioinformatics Resource.

Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University is a comprehensive teaching and research university, offering 175 programs to 14,500 undergraduate, professional and graduate students. The university's research capacity attracts more than $77 million in external funding annually. Research expertise includes ocean studies, health studies, material sciense, energy and ICT with a growing involvement in advanced technical research and education.

Physicians and researchers from Dalhousie University are members of the research collaboration that is the Brain Repair Centre. The Brain Repair Centre (BRC) is a multidisciplinary collaboration linking more than 100 world-class researchers and physicians specializing in groundbreaking treatments and technologies in the field of brain repair. They range from surgeons who replace tissue in the human brain to recover lost capability, to scientists in the field of imaging, stem cell neurobiology, pharmacology, psychiatry, ophthalmology, neurology and cognitive neuroscience.

Bus will pick up delegates at the front of the Westin and bring them back to the Westin after the tour of the three research facilities.