The 2025 IP Summit, presented by New Ventures BC, Innovate BC and the Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, is a premier conference designed to equip startups, innovators, and industry professionals across British Columbia with the tools and insights to safeguard their intellectual property. The summit fosters meaningful connections, practical learning, and collaboration across the province’s innovation ecosystem.

Join us for a half day of curated panels, connect with fellow ecosystem members, and gain practical knowledge to elevate your IP strategy.

A Vancouver Startup Week event. For more information, visit https://www.vanstartupweek.ca/

Register Here

Keynote Speaker:

Peter Gross, Chief Intellectual Property Officer, Lucent Biosciences

Lucent BioSciences: A 13-Year IP Journey

What is your company worth? The answer to that question will dominate any other attribute of an organization in an entrepreneurial context.  Intellectual property is the most important asset any new or upcoming company can possess, but it’s surprisingly abstract for most entrepreneurs. It is also possible to inadvertently kill a startup in one hour, if you aren’t aware of the basics of intellectual property law.  Peter will present a lively storyline about an IP adventure that spans 13 years and begins with being served a search warrant, but through a byzantine series of events, that search warrant eventually culminated into 6 key patent families in 22 jurisdictions that allowed Lucent Biosciences to attract investment, innovate and scale in the world’s largest industry. 

Panels:

2:00pm – Duty and Disruption: Liability in the era of AI

Moderator: 

  • Jen Mielguj, (Director, Intellectual Property and Partnerships at DIGITAL)

Panelists: 

  • Justine Gauthier (General Counsel and Head of AI Governance, Legal Affairs and AI Governance at MILA)
  • Maya Medeiros (IP Lawyer, Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright)
  • Handol Kim (Co-Founder and CEO at Variational AI)

2:50pm – Navigating FTO

Moderator: 

  • Roch Ripley (Partner at Gowling WLG and the head of the Vancouver office’s Intellectual Property Department)

Panelists:

3:40pm – Startup and Scaleup IP Stories

Moderator: 

  • Conor Sheehan (VP, Intellectual Property Business Development, at UnitedLEX)

Panelists:

  • To be announced

Closing Fireside Chat:

Hon. Diana Gibson, Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation

Peter Cowan, CEO of Innovate BC

Why attend?

Whether you’re building your first product or scaling fast, you’ll leave with actionable IP strategies, fresh perspective, and connections that matter. Don’t miss this opportunity to protect what you’re building and fuel your growth with confidence.

Get the insights you need to protect, grow, and scale your innovation 🚀

Who should attend?

  • Startup founders looking to protect their innovations and understand IP essentials.
  • Early-stage teams navigating product development and potential IP risks.
  • Ecosystem members that want to network with founders and experts around the topic of IP

Due to limited seating, companies looking to optimize and leverage their existing IP strategy will be prioritized.

 

Register Here

 

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of Innovate BC and the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation.