IP TUTORIAL

Our intellectual property (IP) services are focused on trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, technology transactions, licensing matters, patents and industrial designs.

Trademarks
In Canada, a trademark is a word (such as “Blackberry®”), a logo, a symbol, a design, a domain name, a telephone number, a shape or style of packaging, an applied colour or a combination of these used by consumers to distinguish one person's wares (products) or services from those of another. Trademarks are often the main way to differentiate one brand from another in the marketplace. For example, the trademark “Blackberry®” identifies both a smartphone device, and a company, distinct from other mobile e-mail and smartphone companies in the Canadian market.

You can protect your trademark in Canada through trademark registration. A trademark registration is valid for 15 years and provides proof of legal title to your mark in much the same way as title registration for real property provides proof of title to your home. Registering a trademark grants an exclusive right to use your trademark, and enables you to better protect this right. In the event of a dispute, the onus is on the challenger if a trademark is registered.

A registered trademark is a valuable piece of intellectual property that can be bought, sold, licensed and offered as collateral (security) for debt. Follow this link for more information about our IP Commercialization & Technology Law services.

For further information on Trademarks, please refer to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office's "A Guide to Trade-marks by clicking here.

Copyrights
A copyright is the sole right to produce or reproduce an original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, or any substantial part thereof, in any material form. Some common examples of the kinds of works that attract copyright are photographs, computer software, drawings, screenplays, television broadcasts and musical recordings. However, consider that copyright in a specific work protects the original fixed form of expression but not the idea expressed.
Copyright arises automatically in Canada as long as certain statutory criteria are met, and it generally lasts for 50 years after the death of the work’s creator. While registration of copyright is not mandatory, it does provide evidence that copyright subsists in a particular work and that notice has been given that the person named in the registration is the actual owner. In the case of copyright infringement, registration may also prevent an infringing party from denying knowledge of the copyright so as to avoid paying money damages to the owner.

We ensure official registration of your copyright by filing applications in Canada and other countries. While copyright registration is not compulsory, it offers rebuttable evidence that the registered owner owns the copyright protected under the Copyright Act.

For further information on Copyright, please refer to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office's "A Guide to Copyrights" by clicking here.

Industrial Designs
Good product design is an important tool for capturing customer imagination and enhancing sales. An industrial design is the particular features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament (or any combination of these) applied to manufactured products. The design must be original and have features that generally appeal to the eye. In order to protect against the copying of an industrial design, the industrial design must be registered. A registration is valid for 10 years starting on the date of registration.

For further information on Industrial Design, please refer to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office's "A Guide to Industrial Designs" by clicking here.

Patents
A patent is a proprietary right which is granted for an invention, where "invention" typically means any new, process, useful product, equipment or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement on an invention. A Canadian patent gives the patent owner the right to exclude others from making, using or selling the invention in Canada from the day the patent is granted up to 20 years from the day on which the patent was filed.
For further information on Patents, please refer to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office's "A Guide to Patents" by clicking here.