Intellectual Property & Market Analyst

This position is a part of the Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA). 

This position has an end date of March 31, 2025 and offers a comprehensive benefits package which can be viewed on our Benefits Overview page .

Location: This role is hybrid with a mix of remote and in-person and work primarily located at Enterprise Square, Edmonton.

This competition will be used to fill 4 positions.

Working for the University of Alberta

The University of Alberta acknowledges that we are located on Treaty 6 territory, and respects the histories, languages and cultures of First Nations, Métis, Inuit and all First Peoples of Canada, whose presence continues to enrich our vibrant community.

The University of Alberta is teeming with change makers, community builders, and world shapers who lead with purpose each and every day. We are home to more than 40,000 students in 200+ undergraduate and 500+ graduate programs, over 13,000 faculty and staff, 260,000 alumni worldwide and have been recognized as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for over a decade.

Your work will have a meaningful influence on a fascinating cross section of people—from our students and stakeholders, to our renowned researchers and innovators who are quite literally curing diseases, making discoveries and generating solutions that make the world healthier, safer, stronger, and more just.

Position Summary

Reporting to the AVP, Innovation, Knowledge Mobilization, and Partnerships, the position participates in technology transfer and commercialization activities arising from inventions created by inventors at the University of Alberta. Technology transfer is one of the avenues of transferring knowledge to the community so that social benefit can be realized through new technological advancements. This position has a service mandate to the researchers. It involves protecting intellectual property and managing intellectual property obligations both before and after inventions are created and staying informed of ongoing research programs of Faculty members on campus. With successful patenting, marketing, licensing and eventual commercialization of inventions, the inventors, the University, the Greater Edmonton Region, and the province will benefit through increased license revenue, increased research contract funding, and a growing portfolio of startup companies.

Duties

Responsible for the assessment of Reports of Invention for the purposes of determining whether intellectual property has been created and how to best protect these inventions for the benefit of the University and society.

• Secure working knowledge of the criteria for patentability
• Through informal discussions with researchers, identify new IP and educate researchers on criteria for patentability
• Gain familiarity with patent databases, literature searches and market information
• Working with the Associate Director responsible for a new invention, evaluate intellectual property and commercial potential through patent/literature/market searching; consult with the inventor to compare technical features of her/his technology to existing technologies
• Search internal records to identify funding sources and legal agreements related to invention disclosures; provide to Associate Directors for review
• In consultation with the Associate Director and inventors, provide the University’s commercialization strategy for the technology within 4 months
• As required, work with Associate Director and IP Manager to determine appropriate IP protection strategy, discuss the strategy with researcher, and interact with patent agent.

Apply for funding to add value to early-stage inventions; market technologies to industry; help transfer commercialization rights to industry.

• Assist researchers, Associate Directors and Industry Liaison Officer in writing commercialization plans for translational grant applications (i.e. NSERC Idea to Innovation , CIHR Project Grants, Alberta Innovates- NSERC Alliance); commercialization plans include patentability assessment plus assessment of the regulatory approval pathway, market evaluation and competitive product analysis.
• In consultation with the Associate Director, assess market and intellectual property position for technology development in strategic areas; help outline strategies related to IP strategy, product development and new company formation
• In consultation with the Associate Director, Industry Liaison Officer and the researcher, draft concise marketing documents describing the technology and the potential business opportunity
• Post licensing opportunities on marketing platforms and social media
• Search industry databases to identify potential commercial partners for collaboration and licensing
• Contact business development personnel in industry to introduce license opportunities; follow up on inquiries
• Working with the Associate Director, review and learn to draft and negotiate business agreements including confidential disclosure agreements
• Gain working knowledge of standard financial terms for industry license deals through internal discussions and by searching subscription databases for comparable deal terms

Maintain effective relationships with colleagues in Technology Transfer Services and the University community for promoting technology transfer activities and educating researchers on intellectual property matters.

• Attend regular meetings to report on commercialization decisions and progress
• Participate in seminars to inform the University researchers of technology transfer

Support the technology Transfer Services team in its mandate to transfer new technology for public benefit.

• Assist in maintaining accurate legal records of team activities
• Gain working knowledge of technology commercialization process at the University of Alberta
• Gain working knowledge of commercial development pathway and potential funding sources for products.
• Gain working knowledge and connections within Alberta innovation community
• Assist researchers by providing information and strategies to support the commercialization process

Minimum Qualifications

• Undergraduate Degree is a related field (i.e. engineering, computing, agriculture, physical or life sciences)
• Business training/education, and experience with intellectual property is considered an asset
• The successful candidate must have exceptional writing skills to facilitate preparation and editing of grant proposals, technical documents, and business /promotional materials
• A keen ability to quickly understand a broad scientific range of invention disclosures
• Basic knowledge of business practices
• Sound information gathering and analysis skills
• Highly organized; able to handle diverse workload and changing priorities
• Excellent written and oral communication skills; able to identify and focus on key issues relating to commercial and intellectual property potential for technologies
• Able to handle stressful situations and maintain good relations with researchers when dealing with sensitive commercialization issues
• Continually operate in service mode to researchers on campus

Note: Online applications are accepted until midnight Mountain Standard Time of the closing date.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those individuals selected for an interview will be contacted.