You Built It. Now Protect It.
By Kristine Derksen, Director of Marketing & Communications, North Forge™️
A few weeks ago, I wrote about a question we believe more founders should be asking:
What have we created, and how do we protect its value as we grow?
Now, Manitoba and Saskatchewan startups have a little more time to answer it.
North Forge has extended the application deadline for ElevateIP to October 7, 2026,
giving eligible startups additional time to apply for support to better understand, develop and implement an intellectual property strategy.
So, if you saw our last article, visited the ElevateIP website, started an application or simply thought, I should probably look into that, consider this your reminder.
Now is the time to take the next step.
Intellectual property can be easy to push down the priority list when you are building a
company.
There are customers to find, products to develop, prototypes to build, employees to hire and capital to raise. IP can feel like something to deal with once the business is bigger, the product is finished or expansion is already underway.
But intellectual property is not simply something to think about once you have succeeded.
It can be part of how you get there.
Your company may already be creating valuable IP without you necessarily thinking of it
that way. Your brand. Your software. Your technology. Your processes. Your designs. Your
data. Your proprietary knowledge.
The question is whether you understand what you have, who owns it and what should be
protected.
That is exactly the conversation ElevateIP is designed to help founders have.
ElevateIP is a national program led by Innovation, Science and Economic Development
Canada. North Forge delivers the program in Manitoba and Saskatchewan in partnership
with Communitech.
Through ElevateIP, eligible startups can access financial support to help offset the costs of developing and implementing an intellectual property strategy, including eligible
professional services related to IP strategy, patents, trademarks and other protection
activities. That funding is paired with access to experienced IP professionals who can help founders understand what needs protecting, determine the right approach for their
business and take meaningful steps to put that strategy into action.
And we know the support can make a difference.
Between April 2023 and March 2026, North Forge supported more than 700 SMEs across Manitoba and Saskatchewan through ElevateIP. That work resulted in 104 custom IP strategies, 314 new IP applications and approximately $3.5 million in direct funding to
participating companies.
Those numbers tell part of the story.
The founders tell the rest.
Campaign Compass founder Nancy Cooke experienced firsthand how quickly IP can
become a business issue when someone attempted to register her company’s name and
exact business description in Texas following the introduction of her election campaign
management platform at a U.S. conference.
Through North Forge’s Founders Program and ElevateIP, Cooke developed a more
comprehensive approach to trademarks and IP management as Campaign Compass
prepared for growth.
“ElevateIP has been a game-changer,” Cooke said.
For Les Verts Living founder Kerry Green, the value of IP was already familiar.
“When we sold our previous company, it was the IP that added a whole bunch of value,”
Green said.
ElevateIP helped Les Verts take a more strategic approach to protecting its indoor
hydroponic growing technology while accessing expertise and financial support that can be challenging for an early-stage company to absorb on its own.
And for Winnipeg-based Guild Automation, which develops and integrates electronics,
software and operator interfaces for industrial machinery, protecting the technology and
expertise behind its solutions is closely connected to commercialization.
Different companies. Different technologies. Different IP needs.
That distinction matters because there is no single IP checklist that applies to every startup.
A founder developing new technology may need to explore patents. A software company
may need to think about copyright, data, trade secrets and ownership. A consumer-facing startup may discover that its brand and trademarks are among its most important assets. Another company may need to look closely at contracts and who actually owns the IP being created by employees, contractors or collaborators.
The goal is not to protect everything simply for the sake of protecting it.
The goal is to understand what has value to your business and make informed decisions
about it.
That is one of the lessons we took from the first 3 years of delivering ElevateIP.
“We learned a lot from founders during the first iteration of ElevateIP, and we’ve used those insights to make the program clearer and easier to navigate,” said Chris Stillwell, ElevateIP Program Manager at North Forge. “Our focus is on helping founders understand what intellectual property means for their specific business and giving them a clear path to take action. Whether that means developing an IP strategy or taking steps to protect what they’ve built, we want founders in Manitoba and Saskatchewan to have the knowledge, resources and support to move forward with confidence.”
The renewed ElevateIP program reflects those lessons.
The application process has been updated, requirements have been simplified, criteria are clearer and resources have been refreshed. A new portal developed with Communitech provides founders with 1 place to register, apply and navigate the process.
And now, founders have until October 7 to take advantage of the current application
window.
So, here is the challenge I would leave with Manitoba and Saskatchewan founders:
Look at your business differently.
What have you created that a competitor cannot easily replicate?
What technology, knowledge, brand, process or software could become more valuable as
your company grows?
What would happen if someone else tried to use it?
And perhaps most importantly: Do you know what you should be protecting before you
need to protect it?
You do not need to have all of those answers today.
That is the point.
ElevateIP exists to help founders start asking the right questions, understand their options and determine what an IP strategy could look like for their business.
We gave you the first call.
Consider this the follow-up.
If intellectual property has been sitting on your startup’s “we’ll get to that later” list, you now have a little more time.
But do not confuse more time with unlimited time.
Applications for the current ElevateIP intake close October 7, 2026.
You built something worth growing.
Now make sure you understand how to protect what makes it yours.
Eligible startups in Manitoba and Saskatchewan can apply to ElevateIP until October 7, 2026, at northforge.ca/elevateip. Questions about the program or application process can be directed to IP@northforge.ca
