IPIC

What IPIC does

IPIC (Intellectual Property Institute of Canada) is a nonprofit professional association founded in 1926 and headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. It serves as the leading authority and recognized voice for intellectual property professionals in Canada, with a membership exceeding 1,700 individuals spanning patent agents, trademark agents, IP lawyers, in-house corporate IP professionals, government personnel, academics, and students. The organization is governed by a member-elected Board of Directors and led by CEO Adam Kingsley, with a small staff operating from its Ottawa office on the traditional territories of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg.

IPIC's core offerings include certification programs (Patent Agent Exam, Trademark Agent, Certified Canadian Patent Administrator, Certified Canadian Trademark Administrator), continuing professional development courses and webinars, the IPIC/McGill summer IP courses, the annual IPIC conference (the most important IP event in Canada), the Find an IP Professional directory, the IP Assist program in partnership with NRC-IRAP, and an annual awards program. The underlying technology is a digital member portal with course registration, webinar delivery, and the Find an IP Professional search tool, integrated with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office's MyCIPO Patents system.

Revenue is generated primarily through recurring annual membership dues, pay-as-you-go webinar and course fees (members at $90 per individual and tiered group rates up to $1,399 for 16+; non-members at $160 and up to $1,799 for 16+), certification exam fees, and annual conference and gala revenue. Go-to-market is community-led, with member acquisition driven by professional development programming, advocacy, certification pathways, and networking. The organization also receives government grant funding, including over $500,000 from Women and Gender Equality Canada for diversity in IP, and participates in broader ecosystems such as the IP Village consortium alongside BDC, CIPO, NRC-IRAP, GAC-TCS, and ISED, and international programs with WIPO.

Name

IPIC

Legal name

Intellectual Property Institute of Canada

Website

https://ipic.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1926

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IPIC is the Canadian nonprofit professional association, founded in 1926 and headquartered in Ottawa, representing over 1,700 patent agents, trademark agents, IP lawyers, corporate IP professionals, and academics through certification, education, advocacy, and its flagship annual conference.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

NAICS

Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) (533), Advertising Material Distribution Services (54187)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHAMAE

IP Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Intellectual Property (IP) & Patent Services

SECONDARYBPAHAMAJ

IP Filing, Annuities & Renewals Administration

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Intellectual Property (IP) & Patent Services

SECONDARYBPAHAMAI

IP Search, Watch & Competitive Intelligence

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Intellectual Property (IP) & Patent Services

SECONDARYBPAHAMAG

IP Due Diligence & Freedom-to-Operate (FTO) Analysis

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Intellectual Property (IP) & Patent Services

Keywords

• Professional association services
• Intellectual property education
• Patent agent certification
• Trademark agent training
• IP professional advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Ottawa

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership dues from over 1,700 IP professionals including patent agents, trademark agents, lawyers, in-house corporate professionals, government personnel, and academics
2. Educational Programs and Webinars: Revenue from on-demand courses, webinars, certification exams, and annual conferences including IPIC2026 Centennial Conference
3. Events and Conferences: Annual conferences, galas, and networking events including the flagship annual conference regarded as the most important IP event in Canada

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

IPIC is a professional membership association that sells annual memberships, continuing education courses, webinars, and certification programs to more than 1,700 patent agents, trademark agents, IP lawyers, and related professionals in Canada. It also operates an annual conference (including the IPIC2026 Centennial Conference), an IP professional finder directory, and the IPIC100 centennial initiative, and advocates on IP policy before the Canadian government.

Product overview

IPIC (Intellectual Property Institute of Canada) is a professional association serving as the leading authority on intellectual property in Canada. Rather than a unified tech platform, IPIC operates as a membership organization offering a portfolio of professional services including education courses and events, certification programs for patent agents, trademark agents, and administrators, an annual conference, a professional finder tool, the IP Assist program (in partnership with NRC-IRAP), member awards, and the IPIC100 centennial initiative. These services work together to enhance members' expertise as trusted IP advisors and shape policy environments that encourage IP development and use.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IPIC100: Centennial celebration initiative marking IPIC's 100th anniversary milestone.

Products and services

• Education Courses and Events

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,700 members including practitioners from law firms, agencies, sole practitioners, corporate IP professionals, government, and academia

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered major, core, moderate and minor.

• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 March 2023Partnership for Training, Mentoring and Matchmaking Program on IP for Women Entrepreneurs from Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities; training workshop at WIPO headquarters in Geneva
• IP OsgoodecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership for the annual Canadian IP Writing Challenge, bringing together law students, graduate students, and professionals to enhance IP public policy scholarship
• McGill UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual IPIC/McGill Summer IP Courses providing professional education in patent and trademark law
• IP VillagecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration of Canada's leading IP organizations including BDC, CIPO, GAC-TCS, NRC-IRAP, and ISED for the IP Insights panel series to increase IP awareness and education
• Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of IP Village collaboration; committed $160M in financing to support Canadian IP development
• Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of IP Village collaboration; regular engagement on patent and trademark office matters, MyCIPO Patents transition
• National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of IP Village collaboration; partnership for IP Assist program helping SMEs understand IP aspects
• Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network (CACN)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint advocacy efforts with MP Brian Masse on counterfeit import issues and border protection
• Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE)majorOthersFederal funding of over $500,000 from WAGE's Feminist Response and Recovery Fund for Building Back Through Innovation & Increasing Diversity in Canada's IP Sector
• National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with USPTO's NIHF for Canadian STEM and IP enrichment camps for children (Camp Invention)

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA): US-based bar association for IP lawyers with a near-identical mandate of continuing legal education, advocacy, and member services. Direct functional equivalent of IPIC operating in the larger US IP market.
• International Trademark Association (INTA): Global trademark association with members across brand owners and trademark practitioners, providing education, advocacy, and networking—paralleling IPIC's structure but with trademark focus and broader international reach.
• Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO): US trade association for IP owners offering education, advocacy, and member services across patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets—closely mirrors IPIC's multi-disciplinary IP focus and member-driven model.
• International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI): Global IP professional association with national groups, providing international IP education, study committees, and advocacy—directly comparable in structure and function to IPIC at the international level.

Regional players

• Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA): UK chartered professional body for patent attorneys with similar membership, education, and advocacy functions, serving the British IP practitioner community under a comparable common-law tradition.
• Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia (IPTA): Australian professional association for patent and trade mark attorneys offering education, advocacy, and member services in a Commonwealth legal jurisdiction analogous to Canada's IP profession.
• The Institute of Trade Mark Practitioners (ITMA): UK professional body for trademark practitioners with similar role in education, certification, and advocacy for trade mark attorneys in another common-law jurisdiction.

Broad incumbents

• Canadian Bar Association (CBA): Canada's national legal professional association with broader scope covering all practice areas, but provides overlapping continuing education and advocacy services that compete for IP lawyers' attention and dues.
• Patent and Trademark Office Society (USPTO): US national patent and trademark office with broader regulatory authority but overlapping functions of practitioner education, certification support, and IP policy development.

Others

• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO): UN agency that IPIC partners with for international training programs. WIPO sets global IP policy frameworks and runs capacity-building programs that can complement or compete with IPIC's education offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ipic_canada
• Facebookfacebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fipic.ca%2Fnews%2Fipic-announces-catherine-lovrics-as-the-recipient-of-the-shelley-jones-outstanding-contribution-award-2023-10-06.htm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ipiccanada

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IPIC