IP Osgoode's Professor Giuseppina D'Agostino was recently featured in an article entitled "IP Clinic Hoping for Growth" in the Law Times (also available here). In the article, Professor D'Agostino discusses her hopes in growing the OCE/IP Osgoode Innovation Clinic to help more people in a meaningful way that would not otherwise have the resources.
In 2011 Professor D'Agostino in collaboration the Ontario Centres of Excellence and Torys LLP launched the OCE/IP Osgoode Innovation Clinic, which provides pro bono assistance to start-up companies. Under the supervision of lawyers from Torys LLP, student volunteers of Osgoode Hall Law School work with under-resourced companies to help them secure and protect their IP en route to commercial success.
Her goal in starting the clinic was to provide a service from the grassroots perspective to help innovators make it into the economy while at the same time increase experiential learning opportunities for students at Osgoode. Currently, students volunteer their time at the clinic but there are plans to expand and institutionalize the program so that students can get course credits for their work. The clinic serves a diverse range of innovators primarily from the biotechnology, green industry, and the ITC sectors, however, there are also plans to expand the services of the clinic to the digital media and mechanical engineering sectors.
To learn more about the services offered by the clinic, click here.