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In This Issue
Let's Innovate for Innovation's Sake
Everything Is Difficult Before It's Easy
The Global Gaming Industry
Gowlings Wins Big at the Managing IP North America Awards
Protect Yourself from Trademark Squatters
Guten Tag From Hannover, Germany!

  

 

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April/2014

 

 

"The Gen Y Factor - Drivers of Today's Economic Development"
-from the desk of John G. Jung, CEO

 

Four events this month in the Waterloo Region are forcing me to look at my kids differently. My children (actually now adults) are within the range of ages that would be called "Gen Y." Some people refer to them as "Millennials", "young echo-boomers" and even sometimes they prefer to be referred to as "Digital Natives" (as opposed to those near Luddites called Digital Immigrants!).

 

Earlier this week, Taylor Jackson launched his new video called "Start-up Community," demonstrating clearly the "Gen Y" impact on the Waterloo Region's start-ups. "Gen Y" dominated companies from Buffer Box to Vidyard and Thalmic Labs were showcased in the extended play video.April 2014 Newsletter Gen Y

 

On the same day, the University of Waterloo held its Innovation Summit, showcasing some of the most successful companies that emerged from the University's unique Intellectual Property policy, including companies like Open Text and Clearpath Robotics. Clearpath's CEO Matt Rendall explained how he got started with the University's decision to teach mechatronics back in 2003 and today he runs a multi-million dollar company with sales internationally.

 

The following day, CTT Inc.'s 3rd Tuesdays Thought Leadership Breakfast panel focused discussion on the two-way all day transit opportunity between Waterloo Region and Toronto's Union Station with local professionals such Dr. Steven Woods, the Site Leader and Director of Engineering for Google in Kitchener and speakers from Kitchener, Cambridge, University of Waterloo and Go-Transit. As mentioned at this event, one of the key reasons for this push for transit is to attract and retain talent, especially among the "Gen Y" users of the service.

 

In a few weeks I will be speaking at the #YGenY networking event at the Tannery, hosted by AIESEC. The topic is: "Why Generation Y Gives You the Competitive Edge". All four events point to the "Gen Y" factor that planners and economists must take into consideration as they plan for their communities and its economic vitality. "Gen Y" talent is a must in a community and will give a community, as witnessed in the Waterloo Region, the competitive edge.

 

Here are some of the reasons why .....Read More

Let's Innovate for Innovation's Sake

After spending two days at the University of Waterloo's Innovation Summit, I can say that I'm energized, informed of the challenges and optimistic for the future. This well-executed summit brought ICT and venture capital thought leaders from Silicon Valley and across Canada together with key stakeholders from Waterloo Region to not only assess the local landscape and highlight the successes sprouting from the UW grounds, but to also critically analyze what it'll take to propel this area and Canada in a highly competitive global marketplace. The call to action was clear; grow our companies to be big and become major leaders in ICT and beyond.

 

  Waterloo Innovation Summit Clearpath Robotics

There is no doubt that the calibre of entrepreneurs and talent in our community is unique, with startups excelling in disruptive technologies such as advanced robotics, autonomous vehicles, 3D printing and wearable technologies. But the world is not sleeping, and truly successful ecosystems must create an aggressive culture of innovation.

 

As a high cost, low scale country we must innovate with research and commercialization as key ingredients into growing Canada's economy according to Kevin Lynch, Vice-Chair, BMO Financial. We must keep a sense of urgency as entrepreneur-driven economies happen all over the world, with Israel continually being cited as a prime example. The University of Waterloo's recent partnership signing with Technion.....Read more 

 

By Catherine Bischoff, Sr. Business & Marketing Analyst, CTT Inc.

Everything Is Difficult Before It's Easy

A reminder that your problems can turn into your greatest triumphs

   

Necessity is the mother of invention. Stop for a minute and think about the challenges in your organization. These issues highlight your necessities. Recognize them and invest in invention.

 

In business, invention is the lifeblood of growth. It keeps your organization efficient and current. Done well, invention makes life easier. It saves money, makes your employees happier and keeps clients coming back for more.

 

Consider this case example. Until recently, the Municipal Consent Application process in the City of Kitchener was a paper-based, in-person procedure. The process was riddled with inefficiencies, frustrating both applicants and city workers. A system requiring manual updates to the consent team meant crossing emails, the risk of working with outdated files and low levels of collaboration. The process went on too long, it had the potential to introduce too many errors and it used antiquated procedures that cost applicants and the city too much time and money.

 

That's when the City of Kitchener brought its problem and some ideas about how to fix it to eSolutionsGroup. Together the two designed and created easyConsent, taking the entire consent process to an online environment. Applications are reviewed, updated, communication is recorded and payment is made in one web application at a time convenient to the user. And users agree, it's easy!

 

Every organization has unique challenges. Maybe a collaboration and communication tool would make your life easier. Maybe your invention will be different. The key is to recognize the necessity and create.

 

eSolutionsGroup is a Waterloo-based company with 8 years experience delivering diverse technical and creative solutions. Our clients include organizations rooted in Business, Education, Manufacturing, Government and Not For Profit. As a corporate partner of CTT Inc., eSolutionsGroup is committed to promoting local development, collaboration and making things easy.

 

Contact Karen Mayfield to see how we can help your business turn a problem into a triumph.

The Global Gaming Industry

Over the past half century, it is amazing the momentum, interest and commercialization that is behind those who are committed to being part of the world's gaming industry, its evolution and continued enjoyment.

 

This article is the second part of a two-part story of CTT Inc.'s participation of the Game Developers Conference, which took place in San Francisco last month. Through our involvement in the Ontario Technology Corridor, representatives from across Ontario maximized their time through a multitude of business development strategies, which included pre-qualified meetings with ICT businesses situated throughout Silicon Valley; individual match making meetings at the conference itself and by taking to the floor of the tradeshow to introduce Ontario to exhibitors. The prevailing interest of industry leaders in gaming was focused around how Ontario's digital media ecosystem is contributing to its overall ability to shine as a destination for investment, R&D and talent attraction against "power regions" like Silicon Valley, British Columbia, Quebec, Russia and Estonia, to name a few.

 

Within this decade, Ontario is seeing the benefit of its long term investment in talent as its graduates continue to saturate the industry. Provincial and federal programs are in place and being approved and funded, such as the federally funded Investing in Business Innovation that supports business skills, education and seed financing. Select Ontario municipalities looking to build critical mass within and around this industry have invested extensive time and effort building supporting clusters and strategic community partnerships.

 

While the future looks positive, the barriers to success experienced globally include having limited access to and identifying the publishers who enable budding game developers to bring their product to market or who act as private VC or angel funders. Alternately, the more established businesses within this industry face the struggle to source talented content creators and therefore look for creative solutions addressing talent retention and employee turnover -both challenges that add to bottom line costs and delayed product launch dates.

 

Responding to its growing need for skilled talent, a well-established, California-based gaming firm will soon be opening a development office here in the Waterloo Region with the help of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment (MEDTE).

 

To learn more about supporting CTT Inc.'s efforts with attracting foreign investment around the world, please drop me a quick email.

 

By Jason Kipfer, Sr. Business Development Officer, CTT Inc.

 

Gowlings Wins Big at the Managing IP North America Awards

Gowlings had its strongest showing to date at the 2014 Managing Intellectual Property North America Awards, coming away with a total of six awards - more than any other Canadian law firm. The seventh-annual ceremony was held last night in Washington, D.C., honouring exceptional intellectual property law firms and lawyers from across Canada and the U.S.

 

Gowlings was named Canadian "Firm of the Year" in three of the five practice area categories, taking home awards for trademark prosecution, patent prosecution and copyright. Gowlings also won two "Milestone Case of the Year" awards.

 

"These awards reflect Gowlings' long tradition of setting the highest standards in the intellectual property field in Canada," said Scott Jolliffe, Gowlings chair and CEO. "Our Intellectual Property Group is consistently recognized as a top IP practice in Canada and internationally. Receiving six awards this year is a testament to our commitment to excellence in the IP field in Canada."

 

Managing Intellectual Property magazine is recognized internationally as a highly respected source of news and analysis on IP developments worldwide. Gowlings has been ranked as a top-tier firm in Managing Intellectual Property's World IP Survey for 18 consecutive years.

 

Gowlings' Intellectual Property Group is consistently top-ranked in all aspects of intellectual property law, helping leading global brands maximize their IP assets and protect what makes them unique - in Canada and beyond.

 

By Bryce Kraeker, Partner, Gowlings

 

Protect Yourself from Trademark Squatters

Recently, CTT Inc. had the pleasure of hosting Brandy Baker of Kangxin Partners, P.C. in the Waterloo Region.  The purpose of the visit was to spread some information about protecting IP/Trademarks when doing business in China.

 

Brandy's presentation was certainly informative.  As she says, the number one rule to remember is that China is a first-to-file system, therefore it is very important that you register your trademarks as soon as possible to get priority over the other registrants. 

  Pick Pocket

"Trademark Squatting", the practice of registering a company's Trademark for monetary gain, is a business in China.  According to Brandy, many squatters do a lot of research to find out what brands might already be active in China, or what brands may be active in the future.  Then they register the Trademark as their own. 

 

There are options to getting your Trademark back once a squatter has claimed it.  Opposition proceedings, invalidation through non-use cancellation, cancellation proceedings with bad-faith arguments are some of the routes open to you.  Often, though, this is an arduous process, and unfortunately, doesn't always work in your favour. 

 

The other option is to settle with the squatter by paying them a sum of money.  This route is typically the fastest (and what the squatter is hoping for).  If you find yourself in this situation, Brandy does suggest that you approach a Chinese attorney, rather than your own local one, because Chinese attorneys are more familiar with dealing with this type of situation.

 

The laws in China are changing.  But the best way to prevent Trademark squatters from hijacking your Trademark is to register it first.  Be sure to register it in several classes, and remember to register your Chinese language Trademark, too!  Even if your plans don't include China in the immediate future, registering is a relatively inexpensive process to do so, and it will protect you from Trademark squatters.

 

By Stephanie Baskerville, Business Development Coordinator, CTT Inc.

Guten Tag From Hannover, Germany!

This year's Hannover Messe, the world's largest industrial fair, was attended by CTT Inc. as a member of the Ontario Clean Technology Alliance and the Ontario Automotive Communities Alliance. The theme of this year's exhibition was focused on clean technologies, advanced manufacturing, automation and automotive production.

 

Through matching dollars from the Invest-Canada - Community Initiatives (ICCI), a federally funded program that supports Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) initiatives, our two Pan-Regional groups were able to maximize our time, energy and resources by working with an in-market consulting company which was able to secure for each of us 20-25 meetings with businesses that either have an approved plan or an interest in expanding their global footprint to include Canada, with a fo cus on the Province of Ontario.

 

The opportunities available for Ontario are numerous and include mergers and acquisitions, distributorships, sales and service channels, access to skilled talent, and innovative global industrial/academic R&D. A key message that I was able to share, and was of significant interest to European businesses that I spoke with, was access to the United States through Canada's NAFTA agreement as well as the highly anticipated Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union.   Last month, CTT Inc. held a 3rd Tuesdays Thought Leadership event, where keynote speaker Jayson Myers, shared insights about how CETA would bring additional opportunities for local businesses. At Hannover Messe, I was pleased to promote the message of how the CETA agreement makes Canada (and Waterloo Region in particular) all that much more of an attractive location for their North American operations.

 

To learn more about how you can participate with CTT Inc. as we drive FDI in Waterloo Region and to be part of high-level investment discussions with connections made at Hannover Messe, please contact me.

 

By Jason Kipfer, Sr. Business Development Officer, CTT Inc. 

Regional Economic News 
  • BlackBerry's market share has taken a huge hit from Apple and Google, but the Waterloo, Ontario-headquartered company seems to have a firm grasp on the growing world of connected cars. BlackBerry Logo
  • The connected car market that BlackBerry, Google and Apple are working to develop is expected to reach $53 billion by 2018--and BlackBerry seems to be in the lead.

    "QNX is the standard right now," Matthew Stover, an analyst at Guggenheim Partners in Boston, told Businessweek. "It's proven and people know what it is."


  • The land, most of which is situated between Speedsville Road and Riverbank Drive, north Maple Grove Road, is strategically positioned for future development due its proximity to the Region of Waterloo International Airport, Hi ghway 401, the Canadian Pacific Rail (CPR) corridor and major inter-regional roads.

3rd Tuesdays Thought Leadership Series
CTT Inc. is proud to share that our 3rd Tuesdays Thought Leadership Series has really taken off!  Our inaugural event in March was kicked off by Dr. Jayson Myers, who chaired the discussion about the EU-Canada CETA Agreement, and drew approximately 75 business people.
 
The second one, which took place on April 15th, was entitled "GO Train & LRT: Catalysts for Corridor Innovation" and had over 100 people attend (despite the unseasonably snowy weather!) 
 
Business people in the community are already recognizing the tremendous value of attending these Thought Leadership events as they bring to the forefront key topics impacting FDI in the Region
 
Don't miss the next one, on May 20th:
Waterloo Region Economic Development Strategy
 
Building a solid foundation for the future of

Waterloo Region

  • Business insights are essential as we build a solid foundation for growth
  • How can we amplify and accelerate Regional strengths?
  • What does the 'road map' look like?
  • What challenges we face as a Region?

WHERE: Waterloo Inn Conference Hotel

WHEN: Tuesday, May 20, 2014, 7:30 AM - 9:00 AM

 

 Sign Up Now 


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