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"Intellectual property", known as patents,
trade marks, copyrights, industrial designs and trade secrets, is a
cornerstone of business. Like other
valuable business assets, this "property" must be protected.
What are the differences between the various categories of
Intellectual property? To
illustrate, consider how a new and improved garden tool might be protected
from exploitation by competitors.
PATENTS
protect an "invention" which is defined as "any new and
useful art, process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter",
or any new and useful improvement to these items. In the case of the garden tool, a patent
might protect the structure of the tool, how it works or the method of
assembling it.
TRADE MARKS are used to distinguish one trader's wares (i.e. goods) or
services from another's. They should
not simply describe the character or quality of the wares or services. In the case of the garden tool, the trade
mark is the name or logo/design under which the tool is known or marketed. A good example in the distinctive
"Kodak" trade mark for photographic products.
INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS in Canada (called a "design patent" in the US)
protect an object's shape, pattern or ornamentation which appeals to and is
judged solely by the eye. For
example, the garden tool may have a distinctive shape or appealing
ornamental (i.e. nonfunctional) aspect which can be protected by an
industrial design. The industrial
design would not stop others from making a garden tool different in
appearance but identical in function.
Refer
to the Guide to Industrial Designs from CIPO
(Canadian Intellectual Property Office) for more information.
COPYRIGHT
protects how an idea is expressed, and not the idea itself. Copyright subsists in every original
literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work. A "literary work" includes, for
example, books, blue prints and computer programs, and an "artistic
work" includes paintings, drawings, photographs and the like. Taking the garden tool example,
copyright may exist in any labels affixed to the tool or in instruction
manuals, but won't protect how the tool functions.
TRADE SECRETS, also known as "confidential information", may
consist of an unpatented but secret formula, device or industrial process
known only to a few employees.
Unlike patents, a trade secret need not have any novelty, although
it must not be allowed to become public property or public knowledge. Merely stating that something is a trade
secret or is confidential does not make it so unless it is. Anyone who uncovers a trade secret by
examining a product on sale, or in any other proper manner, has the right
to use it. There are obviously no
registration requirements for trade secrets.
GET
in TOUCH: Patents Canada, P.O.Box 96029, West Springs RPO, Calgary,
Alberta, T3H 0L3. Phone: 403-540-3204. E-mail: mail@patentscanada.ca
Copyright © Patents Canada 1995-2022
PATENTS CANADA is a Trademark
of Thomas E. Malyszko
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DISCLAIMER
This web site is intended to provide general information about
intellectual property and should not be considered as advice on the
specifics of your case. Each
situation is different, and so to discuss your particular circumstances,
please get in touch with me.
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