The Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI), as manager of the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA) network, and the Innovation Asset Collective (IAC) have announced a strategic partnership seeking to strengthen intellectual property (IP) strategy within Canada’s mining industry.
By combining MICA’s national innovation ecosystem and IAC’s IP proficiency, the organizations intend to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country’s clean-tech and mining sectors reduce IP-related risks and establish strategic ownership positions to deal effectively with complexities within the global markets.
“With the right intellectual property strategy and ownership positions, mining innovators can capture and retain more of the long-term value created by their technologies,” said Mike McLean, IAC chief executive officer, in the organizations’ press release on Northern Ontario Business.
Pillars of partnership
The organizations shared that the following are the pillars of their strategic collaboration, which commenced on Feb. 9:
- strategic IP support: offering resources to help SMEs improve their freedom to operate (FTO) and develop strong IP strategies
- ecosystem engagement: jointly designing approaches for mining, technology, and community stakeholder engagement on the national level
- knowledge sharing: sharing success stories and non-confidential information across networks to promote growth throughout the industry
- collaborative networking: arranging conferences, summits, and outreach strategies to make late-stage mining innovations more visible
“By embedding IAC’s strategic IP expertise and resources into our ecosystem, we are helping Canadian mining innovators not only develop cutting-edge technologies, but also strengthen their IP ownership and freedom to operate — a foundation for sustainable growth and global competitiveness,” said Chamirai Charles Nyabeze, CEMI’s vice president of business development, in the press release.
“As critical minerals have become an economic priority around the world, Canadian companies have a unique opportunity to lead the future of the sector and advance more sustainable mining operations,” McLean added in the press release.
Key players in collaboration
Established in July 2021, MICA is a $300-million national ecosystem that aims to advance the commercialization of late-stage mining technologies. MICA has the support of the Canadian government’s Strategic Innovation Fund.
Based in Sudbury, Ontario, CEMI seeks to address issues within the mining industry. The not-for-profit corporation manages MICA.
IAC is a not-for-profit, membership-based organization with more than 300 members. Financed by the federal government, IAC aims to help Canadian SMEs access the global market.