2020 has been a year of transformation and with transformation, great ideas are created. Our daily lives were disrupted and had all of us finding new and creative ways of doing ordinary tasks. Change can inspire new ideas. 2021 is an exciting year, with opportunities to bring new ideas to the marketplace. When you have a new idea, it can get confusing regarding protecting your intellectual property. The chart below is a quick outline of the different categories of intellectual property.
The Innovation Centre has experts, workshops and a prototype lab to help get your idea to the market.
Patents Copyright Trademark Trade Secrets Industrial Design
|
Description |
Any new and useful inventions |
Original artistic, musical, literary or dramatic work
|
Benefits to differentiate your creation or services from other products |
A secret device or technique used by a company in manufacturing its products |
Graphic features of a product |
|
Examples |
Improvements or new uses for a product |
Photographs, paintings, sound recordings, books, website content, computer programs and software |
Words, sounds, scents, texture, colours, shapes or a mixture of these characteristics |
Recipes, techniques, formulas, device or manufacturing process |
Formation, patterns, shapes, structure or a mixture of these characteristics |
|
Rights |
Legal right to stop others from producing, selling or using your invention |
Stops others from using your original work without your consent |
Eliminates others from using your trademark |
Need legal contracts to protect, no formal rights |
Eliminates others from producing, selling, importing and using |
|
Where |
Canada (options for North America and International) |
International |
Canada |
International |
Canada |
|
Duration |
20 years from date of filing |
For the life duration of the creator |
10 years from registration |
Not limited in time a long as the secret is not revealed |
15 years from registration |
|
Additional thoughts |
Hire a patent lawyer for filing. Owners responsibility to monitor infringement |
Protected when work is created. Registration helps with any lawsuit |
Protected only locally if not registered. TM is used if not registered and ® used if registered |
Responsibility of enforcing a trade secret is on the owner |
Responsibility of enforcing of the industrial design is on the owner |