ElevateIP Alberta
ElevateIP Alberta is delivered in partnership by Innovate Calgary and Economic Development Lethbridge. Our core mission is to help founders understand, leverage, and protect their intellectual property with the support of business accelerators and incubators (BAIs) and Ecosystem Navigators (ENs).
Protecting Your Intellectual Property
As a startup, safeguarding your IP is crucial for staying competitive. It prevents others from copying your ideas, builds your brand, attracts investors, and can generate revenue through partnerships.
Protecting your IP is the foundation for long-term success.

Understanding the Role of IP in Your Business Strategy
An IP strategy aligns a company’s unique assets with its business goals, ensuring they drive value, minimize risks, and leverage market opportunities.
ElevateIP Alberta provides access to opportunities to learn about IP through online educational modules, webinars, and collaborative engagement with Alberta’s BAI ecosystem.
Creating an Effective IP Strategy
In this phase of your IP journey, collaborating with an IP expert is essential to uncover opportunities and address vulnerabilities. A well-developed IP strategy focuses on long-term success rather than immediate implementation.
IP strategy initiatives may include:
- Safeguarding against copying
- Building investor confidence
- Protecting & strengthening your brand
- Preventing unintentional IP disclosure
ElevateIP Alberta will work with you to determine your IP strategy needs, and can fund up to 100% of approved costs (less taxes) up to $15,000.
Implement Your IP Strategy
This phase involves taking actionable steps to protect and strengthen your IP. Not all businesses reach this stage, as they may find they are not ready or the need is not yet clear.
IP implementation initiatives may include:
- Trademark search
- Patentability analysis
- Risk assessments
- Developing trade secret protection processes
If approved, ElevateIP Alberta can fund up to 65-90% of approved implementation costs (less taxes) up to $100,000 of total IP support.