Biotechnology projects rely on sensitive genetic data and biological material Nowadays, innovation-driven companies involved in life sciences, research and biotechnology handle some of the most legally sensitive assets: human tissue, biological material and genetic data. Innovation models involving tissue engineering, biobanks or AI-based analytical technologies are now based on the transfer and use of biological data with high scientific and commercial value. Yet, many organizations still prioritize the scientific and operational aspects of their projects without giving sufficient consideration to the legal restrictions that arise when a project involves a person’s DNA or biological material. From a business standpoint, the risk is that an organization—whether a private company or a public institution—might develop a technology, but then be unable to market that technology because it does not hold the necessary rights to use the biological material and information involved. In Canada, and particularly in Quebec, laws that protect personal and health information have become central to such projects.1 We are no longer simply dealing with typical cybersecurity or privacy concerns. These laws directly affect how biological material is:  collected used transferred stored altered and potentially leveraged for commercial or collaborative research purposes2. Why DNA and human tissue are subject to a particular legal protection The highly sensitive nature of DNA and genetic data is no longer disputed. Canadian case law has long recognized the highly personal and private nature of this type of information.3 It also emphasizes the fact that human tissue and genetic data play a unique role in research and innovation projects because of the identification risks they carry, their scientific value, and the ethical and commercial concerns related to their use.4 This perspective is evident in section 2 of the Act respecting health and social services information5, for example, which defines health information as any information that concerns “any material taken from [a] person,” including biological material. Section 5 and following of this act set out the conditions under which such information may be used, disclosed or transferred in the context of research or collaboration involving third parties6  These obligations supplement those set forth in the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector,7 which requires in particular that personal information be collected for specific and legitimate purposes, and that it be used in a manner consistent with the purposes for which it was originally collected.8 Artificial intelligence, genetic data and the risk of re-identification From a biotechnology perspective, the matter becomes particularly touchy when human tissue or genetic data, which was initially collected for clinical or scientific purposes, is then used for technology or artificial intelligence projects. In fact, many projects that utilize artificial intelligence require not only biological samples and DNA, but also phenotypic data, health information and family history information from the patients from whom the biological samples were obtained. As such, there is a real risk of data cross-referencing here that must be managed with full awareness of the potential impact on those individuals. In certain projects, combining DNA with family information could compromise the privacy of not only the individuals from whom the biological material was collected, but also their family members. This problem has already been raised in relation to genetic genealogy.9 Consent, health information and secondary uses tend to be overlooked A project that was initially intended for research purposes can quickly drift into secondary uses that extend beyond its original scope. However, consent obtained at the outset does not necessarily cover all future uses, particularly where derived data or analysis results are integrated into technology platforms or used to develop analytical tools.10 Research agreements and biological material transfer agreements constitute an essential governance mechanism Agreements have thus become the key governance mechanism. Biological material transfer agreements, collaborative research agreements and data-related provisions are no longer solely intended to protect intellectual property or commercial confidentiality. They also serve to define the processes involved in transferring biological samples, ensuring data traceability, imposing restrictions on reuse and meeting anonymization requirements.11 The rights relating to intellectual property, DNA and personal information are interconnected The interplay between biotech innovation, intellectual property and personal information protection raises complex legal issues. A genetic database or a biological model derived from it can be both a strategic business asset AND a collection of highly sensitive personal information. However, any intellectual property rights that may apply to the results, algorithms or analytical methods do not exempt organizations from the obligations set out in Quebec laws regarding the protection of personal and health information12. On the contrary, in order to market a technology, organizations must hold not only the necessary intellectual property rights but also the rights required under the legal framework governing health and personal information. The commercialization of a technology begins long before it is brought to market As organizations increasingly seek to leverage data from scientific research, issues related to the governance of human tissue, DNA and biological material should no longer be treated as a secondary consideration addressed only at the end of a project. They are becoming an integral part of the legal, operational and commercial framework of modern biotechnology projects and therefore deserve careful consideration from the outset. Summary 1. From a legal standpoint, DNA is considered to be health information In Quebec, biological material and genetic data are not merely instruments of research. Under the law, they are defined as highly sensitive “health information”. The collection, use and transfer of this type of information is strictly regulated and requires explicit, informed consent. 2. Intellectual property does not confer all rights to the holder Just because a company develops a high-performance AI algorithm or an innovative biological model does not mean it can circumvent Quebec’s privacy laws. Bringing biotech products to market requires holding the necessary intellectual property rights AND complying with the legal framework governing the use of health data. 3. The pitfall of project drift (secondary uses) Consent obtained at the outset of a clinical research project usually does not extend to future uses, such as the integration of data into AI platforms. Organizations that fail to establish a solid contractual framework (e.g., transfer agreements, anonymization clauses) from the start may never be able to market their technology. Act respecting health and social services information, CQLR c R-22.1, ss. 1, 2, 5, 44 to 49 and 77. Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, CQLR c P-39.1, ss. 4, 5, 8, 12 and 14. R. v. Dyment, 1988 CanLII 10 (SCC), [1988] 2 SCR 417 Marie Hirtle and Bartha Maria Knoppers, Le stockage des éléments du corps humain, les droits de propriété intellectuelle et les autres droits de propriété, Industrie Canada, 2014. Act respecting health and social services information, supra, note 1, s. 2. Id., ss. 5, 44 to 49 and 77. Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, supra, note 2. Id., ss. 4, 5, 8, 12 and 14. Clausius, K., Kenny, E. & Crawford, M. J. (2023). BILL S-231: The Ethics of Familial and Genetic Genealogical Searching in Criminal Investigations. Canadian Journal of Bioethics / Revue canadienne de bioéthique, 6(3-4), 44–56.  Act respecting health and social services information, supra, note 1, ss. 44 to 49; Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, supra, note 2, ss. 12 and 14. Act respecting health and social services information, supra, note 1, ss. 48 and 49; Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, supra, note 2, ss. 18.3 and 23. Act respecting health and social services information, supra, note 1, ss. 5 and 49; Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, supra, note 2, ss. 12, 17 and 18.3.

On June 4, Canada unveiled AI for All, its new national artificial intelligence strategy. Anchored in the principle that the benefits of AI must accrue to all Canadians, the strategy emphasizes the democratization of AI through expanded training, governance, and Canadian infrastructure. A strategy centred on adoption Canada’s new national AI strategy rests on the premise that the benefits of AI will materialize only if individuals, businesses, and institutions are able to use it with confidence. The government notes a significant gap between AI’s potential in Canada and its actual adoption. According to Statistics Canada, only 12% of Canadian businesses used AI to produce goods or services between mid-2024 and mid-2025. The stated objective is to increase that rate to 60% by 2034. To achieve this, the strategy is structured around six pillars: protecting Canadians and safeguarding democracy, developing skills, promoting adoption, building sovereign infrastructure, supporting Canadian AI champions, and strengthening trusted international partnerships. Trust as a driver of adoption The strategy emphasizes that trust is not presented as an obstacle to innovation, but rather as a condition for its adoption. In particular, the strategy provides for the modernization of privacy rules, protection against certain online harms, transparency of AI systems, and strengthened capacity for the Canadian AI Safety Institute. The government also announced its intention to advance measures such as watermarking AI-generated content, transparent model evaluation, a Canadian certification program for trustworthy AI, and support for the standards ecosystem. For organizations, this confirms an underlying trend: AI will not be assessed solely on the basis of technical performance, but also on its transparency, security, governance, and protection of personal information. Training before broad deployment The strategy places significant emphasis on AI literacy. Canada plans to create a National AI Literacy Initiative, provide training content to one million post-secondary students and more than 3,000 teachers, and give post-secondary students access to trustworthy AI agents. This approach reflects the recognition that AI adoption depends not only on access to tools, but also on users’ ability to understand risks, limitations, biases, misinformation, and privacy issues. The strategy also extends training efforts to workers already in the labour market. It provides support for reskilling pathways for mid-career workers, practical training tailored to real-world AI use cases in workplaces, and employer-led training, particularly with the support of colleges, CEGEPs, and polytechnic institutions. The objective is to ensure that AI adoption benefits workers by strengthening their skills, productivity, and ability to participate in the transformation of their organizations. Helping organizations move from experimentation to implementation This component of the strategy is aimed particularly at small and medium-sized enterprises. The government observes that many organizations are already experimenting with AI, but that the transition to sustainable integration remains more difficult. Identified barriers include costs, access to expertise, and uncertainty about the first steps to be taken. Measures announced include the Business Development Bank of Canada’s LIFT program, a $500 million initiative to help Canadian SMEs access the financing needed to integrate AI tools into their operations, as well as a $500 million investment to strengthen the Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative. The strategy also provides for AI literacy and readiness assessment tools to help businesses identify concrete use cases. Health as the first “national mission” The government plans to launch an AI missions program. The first mission will focus on health, with $200 million allocated to improving outcomes in that sector. The strategy specifically targets applications related to access to care, wait times, avoidable visits, and reducing physicians’ administrative burden. This mission-based approach reflects a desire to concentrate efforts on concrete problems rather than treating AI as an abstract technology. It also seeks to bring researchers, businesses, governments, and practitioners together around measurable objectives. Sovereignty as a strategic issue The strategy presents digital sovereignty as a central issue. It notes that several essential capabilities (computing, cloud infrastructure, connectivity, data, and talent) remain largely located outside Canada. This dependence can expose sensitive data, intellectual property, and critical infrastructure to foreign rules or decisions. Canada plans, among other things, to build a world-class public supercomputer, expand sovereign computing and cloud infrastructure, and invest in secure digital systems for government operations. Supporting Canadian AI champions The strategy also links sovereignty to the ability to grow Canadian businesses domestically. The government states that, in order to retain its most successful entrepreneurs and companies, as well as its most valuable intellectual property, Canada must strengthen its investment environment, support domestic commercialization, and enable companies to compete from within Canada. In this regard, the strategy provides, among other measures, an additional $700 million in affordable sovereign computing capacity for Canadian SMEs, allowing them to develop, test, and deploy their products on Canadian infrastructure rather than relying primarily on foreign platforms. Establishing trusted international partnerships Finally, the strategy presents international alliances as a lever for resilience, sovereignty, and market access. Canada intends to work with trusted partners to develop shared AI capabilities, harmonize standards, support more resilient supply chains, and offer alternatives to closed systems or systems that are not aligned with democratic values. This direction includes expanding the Sovereign Technology Alliance, supporting open-source AI, and using diplomatic and trade networks to attract investment, promote Canadian champions, and open new markets. Key takeaways The publication of the AI for All strategy confirms a shift observed for several years: the question is no longer whether organizations will adopt AI, but how they will do so. For several years, discussions surrounding AI focused primarily on technological breakthroughs, investment, and competitiveness. Canada’s strategy instead emphasizes the conditions required for sustainable adoption: trust, skills, governance, infrastructure, and organizations’ ability to integrate these tools into their day-to-day operations. This shift is significant. The question is no longer only what AI is capable of doing, but how organizations can use it effectively, responsibly, and in a manner suited to their context. In this respect, the challenges facing organizations in the coming years will likely be less technological than organizational. The ability to develop a culture of innovation, train teams, implement appropriate governance mechanisms, and maintain stakeholder trust may prove just as decisive as the choice of tools themselves. The federal strategy also acknowledges a reality that is becoming increasingly clear: AI is no longer solely a matter of productivity or innovation. It is gradually becoming an issue of sovereignty, economic resilience, and long-term competitiveness. In this context, it will be particularly interesting to observe how organizations, institutions, and the various levels of government translate these directions into concrete practices. As is often the case with innovation, true transformation will not arise solely from the technologies that exist, but from the way they are integrated into the processes, decisions, and relationships of trust that shape our organizations.

The theme for this year’s World Intellectual Property Day is “IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate”, celebrating IP’s contributions to the world of athletics, athletes, and fans alike. It may seem surprising, but the world of IP has always been strongly linked to sports, whether it be cutting-edge equipment and gear, or the latest trends and brands in apparel. In honour of this year’s theme, we at Lavery thought it would be fun to highlight various sports-related inventions that have been patented over the years. From the serious to the downright silly, we have chosen several patents that show IP’s important, and sometimes bizarre, contributions to sports and athletics. US 2642679A: Ice rink resurfacing machine Starting with a classic, Frank J. Zamboni’s 1949 patent for an “Ice rink resurfacing machine” is recognizable to anyone who’s ever attended a hockey game. Fun fact: between 1928 and 1978, Frank Zamboni was awarded a total of 15 patents related to ice resurfacing machines as well as other technologies.1 US 267799A: Cork swimming-suit Before there were swimsuits made of space-age materials featuring ultra-hydrodynamic designs, we apparently had swimsuits made of… cork? Patented by Paschal Plant in 1882, this suit was intended to be sufficiently buoyant so as to “enable a person to float with perfect security” and aid in coming up to the surface after a dive. Water safety has never been so fashionable! US6446264B2: Articles of clothing Fast forward 120 years to see how far swimwear innovation has advanced. The use of such “tech suits” correlated with the breaking of numerous swimming world records when introduced, emphasizing the real impact of innovation. US2662587A: Chair for aerial skilifts While modern ski lift technology has existed since the 1930s, Mcilvaine Alexander’s 1949 patent was the first to feature a retractable footrest that could be brought by the passenger into operating position during loading, thereby no longer requiring as much help from attendants.2 US642544A: Bicycle Patented by Louis S. Burbank in 1898, this “innovative” bicycle design is intended to “provide means whereby one may enjoy with a bicycle or similar vehicle exercise like that of rowing” and is “adapted to develop the muscles of the arms and body as well as those of the legs”. Looking at the image above, many questions arise, for example relating to starting, staying upright, and stopping. US638920A: Golf-tee According to the National Golf Foundation, at least 22,000 patents related in some way to golf were filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) between 1976 and 2018, the most of any sport by far.3 For comparison, baseball, the second most patented sport, saw 1,508 patents filed in the same period. An early example of a golf-related patent is this one for a “wooden” golf tee, patented by George F. Grant in 1899. According to the patent, the wooden golf tee was intended to replace “the usual conical mounds of sand or similar material formed by the fingers of the player on which the ball is supported when driving off”. US12011645B2: Golf tee Some 135 years later and golf tee innovation continues, in this case with a two-part design in which the upper portion can move and/or detach from the lower portion when the ball is struck, minimizing any resistance from the tee. US5356330A: Apparatus for simulating a "high five" When looking at technical achievements in sports, one can’t overlook the crowds of adoring fans. With that said, this invention relates to a self-righting hand-arm configuration, which is adapted to pivot when struck by a user, thereby simulating a "high five". According to the patent, solitary fans are, tragically, “unable to perform a ‘high five’ to express excitement during a televised sporting event”, making this invention nothing short of miraculous for such individuals. Other features of this invention include a “miniaturized, battery operated sound generator and speaker, for outputting a predetermined or user selectable sound in response to the striking of the simulated hand”. These sounds can include the “the cheer of a crowd or the voice of a specific player”. US1718305A: Basket ball Patented by George L. Pierce in 1928, this invention changed the look of basketballs to something more closely resembling their modern-day counterparts. According to the patent, basketballs had previously been made with panels tapering down to narrow points. This invention ensured a properly balanced basketball in which the best portions of the hide were saved and used in the pole portions of the ball. It is worth noting that basketballs were actually a dark brown until the late 1950s. The iconic orange colour we recognize today was initially selected by basketball coach Tony Hinkle, who thought it would be easier for fans to see.4 And there you have it, several sports-related patents, which—while not all game-changers—hopefully illustrated IP’s longstanding and far-reaching relationship with the world of athletics. It remains to be seen what wondrous (and wacky) inventions the future holds.   https://zamboni.com/about/zamboni-archives/patents/ https://gizmodo.com/17-historic-patents-that-make-winter-olympic-sports-pos-1520995330 https://www.dennemeyer.com/ip-blog/news/everyday-ip-the-notable-ip-of-golf-basketball-and-other-sports/ https://suiter.com/basketball-patents/