Download Protecting your product

Protecting your product
• What is Intellectual Property (IP)?
• Legal rights that result from intellectual activity in
the industrial, scientific, literary and artistic fields.
• Copyright, Trademark, Patent , Industrial design
• Learn more about Canadian intellectual
properties law
http://www.cipo.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernetinternetopic.nsf/eng/home
Copyright
• Copyright: Bernard Liengme ©2012
• Copyright applies to all original, dramatic, musical,
artistic and literary works (including computer
programs). It also applies to performances,
communication signals and sound recordings.
• Copyright exists automatically when an original work is
created; however, registration gives you a certificate
that states that you are the owner, which can be used
in court as evidence of ownership
• Limited lifetime. So some books can be downloaded
from the Internet free
Trademarks
1875 The first
registered
trademark
• A trademark is a sign used to identify a product. They
help customers identify your product.
• Unregistered: symbol is TM . You are not required to
register your trade-mark — using a mark for a certain
length of time can establish your ownership under
common law.
• Registered: symbol is ®. Registration of your trade-mark
gives you the exclusive right to use the mark across
Canada for 15 years; registration is renewable every 15
years after that
• Microsoft has registered Microsoft Excel®.
Patent
• A patent is a right, granted by government, to
exclude others from making, using, or selling
your invention in Canada.
• You can patent a process not an idea
• It must be new, practical, and not obvious
• During the lifetime of the patent, no one can
copy your design, except if they purchase a
licence from you.
Example of a patent
• http://brevets-patents.ic.gc.ca/opiccipo/cpd/eng/patent/2668740/summary.html
Advantages vs Disadvantages
• What is a trade secret? To patent or not to
patent, that is the question.
• What is reverse engineering?
Industrial Design
• The design must have features that appeal to the
eye. To be eligible for registration, your design
must be original.
• A well-designed chair is not just a pleasure to sit
on, but also a pleasure to behold. For most
manufactured products the value depends not
only on what they do, but how they look.
• Registration can prevent your design from being
copied and imitated by competitors. It pays to
protect your hard work.