Intellectual Property

(Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office)

A patent excludes others from making, using, or selling an invention for up to 20 years after the filing date. Patents cover new inventions (processes, machines, manufactures, composition of matter) or useful improvements on existing inventions only.

Three Basic Criteria:

• The invention must be novel: the first original invention of its kind.
• The invention must have utility: It must work, and have a useful function.
• There must be inventive ingenuity: It cannot be obvious to someone who is skilled in the area.
  
  

The core asset behind the brand value of a product, service or process. A trademark is a distinguishable mark, which can be in the form of a word(s) (i.e. the word Prozac^tm is a trademark), symbol(s) such as a company logo, or a design, which can involve a unique colour scheme or inventive packaging, etc. A trademark is valid for 15 years, but can be renewed indefinitely.

Six Basic Criteria:

1. Cannot trademark a name or surname.
2. Cannot register a clearly descriptive word (such as an adjective) in English or any other language.
3. Cannot indicate a place of origin.
4. Cannot be "deceptively misdescriptive".
5. Cannot be confusingly similar to another trademark.
6. Cannot trademark prohibited marks (such as the Canadian Flag).
   
   

A copyright provides the creator or owner of literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic work to the exclusive right to copy the work in question, typically for the life of the creator plus 50 years.

Three Basic Criteria:

1. Must be an original work.
2. Must be more substantial than a name, title, or a short word combination.
3. Cannot copyright factual information.

An industrial design refers to the protection of original physical features of a product, such as shape, configuration, pattern, or ornament (or any combination of these), for a period of five years (renewable once, for a second five years).

Criterion:

1. Must have original features that "appeal to the eye."

The three-dimensional configuration of microchips which embody semiconductor integrated circuits can be registered and protected for up to 10 years.

Criterion:

1. Must be an original topography.
   
   

A signed acknowledgment by the recipient of information that the information is owned by someone else and cannot be disclosed to a third party, nor can it be exploited by the recipient for personal gain. Non-disclosure agreements are particularly important when sharing results from a scientific breakthrough with another party. They are often used to prevent former employees from sharing information with competitors.

Criterion:

1. Must be a signed, legal document.