Sometimes the most valuable thing a business has is the ideas, images, or inventions that make it unique or recognizable in the marketplace.
This type of information is known as intellectual property and may be worth protecting if its value to the company is deemed to be great enough, or if the threat of losing it to someone else could cause the company serious harm. There are several legal options available to protect intellectual property, depending on what needs to be protected.
These processes come under federal jurisdiction, and are administered by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, a branch of Industry Canada.
A trademark is a word (or words) or design used to identify the goods or services of an individual or organization, and to distinguish it from others in the marketplace.
This trademark can be protected through a registration process with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. Registration of a trademark provides proof of ownership and gives the registered owner exclusive use of that trademark for 15 years.
This makes it very difficult for anyone else to claim the right to use the same, or a very similar trademark. Trademark registration is a fairly straightforward process and can be done by an individual, or with the help of a lawyer.
Copyright is a form of protection that 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.
Only the copyright owner has the right to use or reproduce the work, or to grant permission for someone else to use it. In general, copyright lasts for the life of the author, the remainder of the calendar year in which the author dies, and for 50 years following the end of the calendar year.
For inventors of new products, a patent is the appropriate form of protection. A patent is the right, granted by government, to exclude others from using, making or selling your invention in Canada. The patent can be used to profit from your invention by selling it, licensing others to use it, or as an asset to negotiate financing for your business.
A patent lasts for 20 years in Canada, although a full description of the invention becomes available to the public 18 months after the patent is granted. This is so that while nobody can copy the patented invention, they can learn from it and apply the knowledge to future inventions.
The process of applying for a patent is most often done by a patent agent, as it is fairly complex, but a do-it-yourself process is available online as well.
Two other forms of intellectual property that can be protected are industrial designs, which apply to the visual features of a finished product, and integrated circuit topographies, which deal with the configuration of electronic circuit products or layout designs. In both cases exclusive rights can be granted to the original designer of the work for a period of time.
When deciding whether or not to register intellectual property, one needs to assess the likelihood of having it used by someone else against the time and expense of registering. For more information on protecting intellectual property, contact Muskoka Small Business Centre at 705-646-9021, or visit www.cipo.ic.gc.ca.