Intellectual Property Disposals

As the primary licensing body for all B.C. government-owned intellectual property, our mandate is to manage the Province’s intellectual property in a manner that:

• facilitates equal and fair access to intellectual property owned by the Province;
• encourages ministries to make available Province-owned intellectual property to the private sector, particularly when it supports economic development and job creation in British Columbia;
• ensures that ownership of intellectual property developed by employees of the provincial government, or by its contractors, is protected; and
• provides new non-tax revenue to the government.

We are also the point of contact for publishers, universities, libraries and other interested parties seeking permission to reproduce and distribute material in which the Province owns the copyright. 

If you are seeking permission to reproduce all or part of a Provincially-owned material, fill out the Copyright Permission Request Form and we will be happy to process your request.  After your request has been submitted and received by our program, we will consult with the ministry responsible for the material to confirm there are no objections to the material being used in the manner requested.  If there are no objections, permission will generally be granted.  However, if the material will be used for commercial purposes, or the intended use will include modifying the material, a license agreement may be required.

Our program welcomes unsolicited proposals to license rights to Province-owned materials, which are all given the same careful consideration.  Upon receipt of an unsolicited proposal, we will investigate whether the proposed business opportunity is in the economic best interests of the Province.  If it is determined that the opportunity is worth pursuing, we will provide the requestor with further information regarding the licensing process and begin negotiations of the terms and conditions under which the material may be licensed. 

For more information, please contact the Intellectual Property team.