Cannabis companies race to clinch an edge in pot industry’s next phase of growth: Intellectual property

With the global cannabis business expected to be worth $194 billion in seven years, firms are rushing to lock in lucrative patents to come out ahead
Financial Post (Canada)
Friday, November 9, 2018

dollar cannabis3A report by the Bank of Montreal, which assumed a blue-sky scenario in which the U.S. and all 28 countries in the European Union legalize marijuana for recreational and medical use, projected that the global cannabis market could be worth $194 billion in seven years. The industry’s growth potential is why Canadian cannabis companies are rushing to beef up their research teams, hiring scientists, geneticists, hemp researchers and molecular biologists, and, more importantly, enlisting the expertise of patent lawyers since the companies that can clinch and lock in lucrative intellectual property will undoubtedly have an edge, especially in an industry as young and commoditized as cannabis is.