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Learn how trademarks, copyright, trade secrets, industrial design and patents can help you protect your intellectual property.

5 ways to protect your intellectual property

Enter Target Markets

Intellectual property can be among your greatest business assets.

What is intellectual property and how can you use it?

Intellectual property (IP) is often called a “creation of the mind.” It could be an invention, an artistic work or a logo. As with other types of property, such as home ownership, rights arise with intellectual property ownership. They can include the right to use it, sell it, lease or license it. They can also exclude others from doing those things with your IP. Intellectual property can generate revenues and secure financing.

For many companies, IP is their most valuable asset. Protecting your brand and your unique product can be more valuable than securing your building. It’s what sets you apart from your competitors.

It pays to have a good understanding of what you have that’s worth protecting. What follows is a cheat sheet on the basics.

Basics of intellectual property rules

Five ways to protect your intellectual property:

Trademark: Think of a trademark as short-hand that links your product or service to you. It differentiates you from your competitors. It can be a word, a sign or a logo that helps a customer identify your company. Tim Hortons’ cursive red label, for example, is a registered trademark. So is Starbucks’ green and white double-tailed mermaid logo.

 

Registration of your trademark in Canada gives you exclusive right to its use throughout the country. But your trademark is only associated with the goods and services specified in the registration. You can renew trademark rights every 15 years. Proposed changes to Canada’s Trademarks Act in 2019 will reduce the renewal period to 10 years.

You don’t have to register your trademarks to benefit from exclusivity. Unregistered trademark rights, sometimes called common-law trademark rights can also guarantee you exclusive use. If you use a symbol or name that has sufficient goodwill or reputation, the trademark may be seen as legally yours.

If challenged, however, it’s easier to defend a registered trademark.

If a trademark is a key to your business brand and identity, it makes sense to register it. You can register a trademark on your own or with the help of a lawyer or trademark advisor. The Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC) has a list of professionals who can help.

If you plan to use your trademark to do business outside of Canada, you’ll have to register your trademark in other countries as well.

“Canadian trademark registration does not provide protection abroad and it can be expensive to register in multiple jurisdictions,” says Georgina Starkman Danzig, partner at Kestenberg Siegal Lipkus LLP. “You should consider acquiring IP rights in each country where protection aligns with your business purpose and IP strategy. There are also international IP systems you can take advantage of that provide applicants with tools to apply for IP protection in many countries through one application form.”

Canadian trademark registration does not provide protection abroad and it can be expensive to register in multiple jurisdictions.

Georgina Starkman Danzig

Patents: Patents give you rights over an idea or invention that is new, useful and not obvious. It can apply to a product, a chemical composition or a process. Although the idea itself has to be first of its kind, patents can apply to a new use of an old technology, or a new way to use an existing methodology.

Sony recently applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, for example, to use blockchain technology as part of an education platform that would secure student records and allow data-sharing.

When you apply for a patent, you must fully disclose your invention or idea, including how to use it. Most applicants in Canada use a patent agent to help with their application. Although time-limited and not a guarantee for market success, a patent can be a lucrative asset. It prohibits others in the country from using your patent without permission, which may allow you to be first to market.

But patent laws differ depending on the country. Even if you are a Canadian patent-holder, you may need to apply for exclusive rights to your intellectual property in other countries.

Trade secrets: Some companies don’t want to put their business intelligence in the public domain and prefer to rely upon the protection of trade secrets to keep information out of the hands of their competitors or the public. Think of a trade secret as the recipe for the “special sauce” in a Big Mac, or the blend of 11 herbs and spices in KFC’s chicken.

A trade secret can include any valuable business information, provided it’s confidential. There is no formal registration required, but keeping the secret and limiting access is critical. Once you lose the secret, you lose the protection.

Copyright: Copyright laws protect creative works like art, writing, audio, visual or digital content. They can include the right to stop someone from copying an original work, performance or sound recording. Copyright arises automatically from the time the creation takes form. As with trademarks, however, registration is available and provides legal presumptions and remedies that make it easier to protect these rights from infringement. In Canada, this right lasts for the life of the author plus 50 years. Unlike other intellectual property rights, copyright has global recognition, but the duration of the protection may differ depending on the country.

Industrial design registration: Industrial designs are original, decorative, but non-functional. An example? Audi’s four-circle design on the grill of its cars. Registration of an industrial design in Canada provides you with up to 10 years of exclusivity for its use, sale and manufacture. Like patents, industrial designs are national and require registration in each new country.

3 tips on how to protect intellectual property outside of Canada

1. Free help is available

There are people who can help you understand IP rights in different markets. You can start with IPIC to find an advisor. The Trade Commissioner Service (TCS)—part of Global Affairs Canada—is a valuable free resource for exporters with information on IP protection. In addition, the TCS has offices in 161 countries. Advisors can connect you to local exports in those countries. TCS also has guides to protect your IP in China, the U.S. and the EU.

 

2. Canadian IP protections may not apply in other countries

Starkman Danzig recommends developing an intellectual property protection strategy that addresses internal and external protections. An IP strategy should also address how to defend your rights in the event of a breach.

“Before entering new markets, it is important for Canadian exporters to know what IP rights they have and be informed about the IP landscape in the market they will export to so when they’re communicating abroad, they can cut through the chatter and get right to the quick of it,” she said. “Time is money and in the context of IP rights, delays can have devastating consequences.”

3. Simple actions can trigger intellectual property laws in other countries

Advertising your services to potential clients in countries other than Canada? Even internet advertising can trigger the application of IP legislation in those countries.

“The best course of action is to first clear the right to use your IP in the countries you may be advertising your services to, before you advertise or offer your services,” says Starkman Danzig.

To understand how intellectual property may apply to your company, ask what you’re doing and what rights you want to protect. For example, a curriculum that you sell internationally might be eligible for copyright protection; the novel teaching method may be patentable; and the name and logo used in association with the curriculum may be subject to trademark protection.

Before entering new markets, it is important for Canadian exporters to know what IP rights they have and be informed about the IP landscape in the market they will export to so when they’re communicating abroad, they can cut through the chatter and get right to the quick of it.

Georgina Starkman Danzig

Intellectual property in a global context

Seizures of counterfeit and pirated goods: 

Top economies of origin of right holders whose IP rights are infringed

Where most fake goods originate: 

Top provenance economies of fakes

                       

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Date modified: 2018-06-27