Marks & Clerk is proud to announce a new partnership with the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) and the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA) Network to provide intellectual property (IP) expertise and support to Canada’s mining innovation ecosystem.
Launched in July 2021, the MICA Network is a $300M national innovation ecosystem supported by the Government of Canada's Strategic Innovation Fund, dedicated to accelerating the commercialization of late-stage mining innovation technologies.
The partnership brings together CEMI’s leadership in mining innovation with Marks & Clerk’s deep expertise in intellectual property strategy, protection, commercialization, and enforcement. Through the collaboration, MICA members will gain access to a team of IP lawyers, patent agents, and trademark agents with experience supporting innovative companies across mining, metallurgy, critical minerals, advanced technologies, and industrial sectors.
Through this partnership, Marks & Clerk will provide MICA members with a range of dedicated IP programming and support, including:
Mining-focused IP Workshops: A minimum of two jointly designed workshops each year, developed and delivered for the MICA Network.
Expert IP advisory "Office Hours": Monthly advisory sessions offering MICA members general guidance on intellectual property matters, supported by a shared process to validate and prioritize member inquiries.
IP Success Measurement & Knowledge sharing: Joint reporting on progress and shared dissemination of IP success stories from across the ecosystem.
Ecosystem engagement with IP experts: Side-by-side participation at CEMI events and coordinated outreach to mining, technology, and community stakeholders to connect them with IP experts.
The partnership also supports broader efforts to strengthen Canadian ownership and control of intellectual property developed through mining innovation, helping ensure that technologies and the value they create remain in Canada.
“Canada is rich with natural resources and Canadian mining companies are highly innovative and rich in intangible assets—from proprietary technologies to specialized know-how and data and AI. Marks & Clerk can help MICA member companies transform intangibles into intellectual property assets that can be leveraged for significant commercial advantage. We can help them identify and protect what makes each technology unique with IP, enabling collaboration across clusters, and positioning them to scale confidently into national and global supply chains.”
Kevin Shipley, Partner, Marks & Clerk Canada
“We bring deep expertise and experience working with innovative Canadian companies involved in metallurgy, critical minerals and mining, along with comprehensive intellectual property advice and IP protection strategies at home and abroad. We look forward to sharing our expertise with members of the MICA Network to help them protect their IP in this important sector of the Canadian economy.”
Evangellos (Van) Vekris, Partner, Marks & Clerk Canada
"Today, more than 90% of the value of leading global companies resides in intellectual property and other intangible assets—not in their buildings, equipment, or operations. If Canada is serious about building globally competitive mining technology companies, we must help innovators not only develop breakthrough solutions but also protect and commercialize the intellectual property that underpins their long-term success. Our partnership with Marks & Clerk is an important step in strengthening that capability across the mining innovation ecosystem."
Douglas Morrison, President & CEO, CEMI
"Innovation alone is not enough. To compete globally, Canadian companies must be able to protect, commercialize, and scale their technologies. Our partnership with Marks & Clerk strengthens the support ecosystem available to MICA members and helps ensure that Canadian mining innovations capture maximum value both at home and abroad."
Chamirai Charles Nyabeze, Network Director, MICA Network
Through this collaboration, Marks & Clerk looks forward to supporting the next generation of Canadian mining innovators and helping them build strong intellectual property foundations that enable commercialization, growth, and long-term success.
You can find more information on MICA's website here.
Subscribe to receive more articles like this here.
Canada is rich with natural resources and Canadian mining companies are highly innovative and rich in intangible assets—from proprietary technologies to specialized know-how and data and AI. Marks & Clerk can help MICA member companies transform intangibles into intellectual property assets that can be leveraged for significant commercial advantage.
