By David J French
A recent story published by the Ottawa Citizen on Nov. 7 tells of an individual named as an inventor on a patent for foaming alcohol hand rub who feels he has not received just treatment at the hands of his employer:
“Engineer sues company he says pressured him to give up his rights to foaming hand sanitizer,” by Robert Bostelaar.
“Francisco Munoz, a chemical engineer who came to Canada from Mexico, is suing former employer Deb Brands, alleging the company unfairly pressured him to surrender his patent rights to foaming hand sanitizer.”
The story is essentially that of an employee who was asked to sign a piece of paper transferring to his employer rights in an invention for which he was a co-inventor. He signed as requested. Apparently, his employment was terminated shortly thereafter and six years later, with the invention having proved to be a substantial success, he is claiming that he has been taken advantage of and seeks compensation. But it’s more complicated than that.
Normally, in the absence of a written agreement, regular employees who make inventions own the rights to those inventions. They owe nothing to their employer unless, as a special case, they have been hired to invent. Engineers who are working in order to achieve a specific goal would normally fall into this latter category. The duty of such an employee hired-to-invent includes signing written confirmations of the employer’s ownership of any patent rights that he may generate.
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By Leo Valiquette
It’s Entrepreneurship Week.
There are events aplenty to recognize, celebrate and wax philosophical on what it means to be an entrepreneur, what it takes to be an entrepreneur, and how entrepreneurs should be supported, encouraged and nurtured.
As Francis blogged last week, Startup Canada is making its voice heard on the subject this week with Startup Canada Day on the Hill. I also invite you to read the related op/ed I wrote on behalf of Startup Canada.
On Monday, I had the honour of visiting the folks at the University of Ottawa about their various endeavours to support student entrepreneurship, as well as groom a new generation of intrapreneurs.
All of which makes me think about what is an entrepreneur, or perhaps a better way of putting it is to consider what motivates a true entrepreneur. Why do they choose to endure the long hours, the high risk and the dodgy chance of reward? It would appear to be, from a purely rational standpoint, some form of obsessive madness.
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By Anil Dilawri
I learn a lot from my clients. Recently, I witnessed a couple of clients who had dramatically improved their presentation effectiveness. Their delivery was good, their engagement level was good and the content was clear. But do you know what the real secret sauce was? Their slides really worked for them, not against them. They had simple, easy-to-understand slides that supported and reinforced their strong verbal content.
Those text-filled, complex and cluttered slides may work well in a presentation document that is sent to people via email and then read like a document. But when busy slides are put up on a screen or discussed at a meeting, the audience tunes out the presenter. This is frustrating to you, the presenter, because the presentation should be all about you, your golden verbal content, and your valuable context. The focus should be on you, not the slide.
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By Leo Valiquette
Legacy.
It’s been top of mind for me the past couple of weeks while wearing one of my other hats – editor of the Ottawa Chamber magazine, The Voice.
The next issue of The Voice will serve as a takeaway for the Best Ottawa Business Awards gala taking place in Nov. 21. The awards, previously known as the Ottawa Business Achievement Awards, recognize local business excellence in a number of categories. I’ve been busy interviewing this year’s Lifetime Achievement recipient (Wes Nicol), the CEO of the Year, Halogen Software’s Paul Loucks, and a host of other business achievers.
From this, I thought I would share some of the gems I’ve picked up that speak to legacy, which, from a business standpoint, I define as creating something that endures and has a distinct identity and reputation in the marketplace.
I have to start with a quote from Wes Nicol. This isn’t something he said to me when we spoke recently, but was part of a convocation speech he gave at Carleton University in 2006. It says a lot about the man himself and what has led to his business success:
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By Francis Moran
In a just over a week, the largest-ever contingent of Canadian entrepreneurs will congregate at the seat of Canada’s government, on Ottawa’s Parliament Hill, to engage in a national celebration of Canadian entrepreneurship.
I’ve been proud to be associated with Startup Canada since its genesis more than 18 months ago and I love the idea of Startup Canada Day on the Hill, a milestone event that will manifest the momentum, impact and scale of the grassroots start-up movement in Canada. The day will also advance discussion on the crucial role played by partnerships between entrepreneurs, independent organizations and government in maximizing entrepreneurial success.
When you look at the numbers, there is no doubt entrepreneurship benefits all Canadians. Small businesses represent a huge part of Canada’s work force, and they created more than three-quarters of all private-sector jobs from 2002 to 2012, according to Industry Canada statistics.
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