COPYRIGHTS, PATENTS AND INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS:
Copyrights:
Copyrights aren’t just for artists, but for other businesses, too! Business owners should register copyrights to protect the content of their websites, for software and mobile applications, and for important marketing materials and literature produced for business purposes (posters, brochures, pamphlets, etc.).
Don’t think we’ve forgotten you, artists! Your creative spirit is what keeps life interesting and makes businesses thrive. Make sure to register the fruits of your labour (artistic, musical, literary and dramatic works) so that nobody can question your rights.
Canada is part of the Berne Convention, which is an international agreement concerning copyright protection. A copyright registration in any of the 177 member countries is recognized in all of them.
After you register your copyright, it is important to get in contact with Library and Archives Canada to see whether they would like a copy of your work for their records. The Canadian Intellectual Property Office is responsible for the registrations, so they have some general information about the work and its authors and owners, but they do not archive copies of all of the registered works.
Purpose of the “Poor Man’s Copyright”:
After registration, it is also advisable to mail a copy of the work to yourself, together with a copy of the matching copyright registration certificate. Send it by registered mail, leave it sealed, and keep it somewhere safe in case you need to have it opened in court as part of a copyright infringement case. (A fire safe or a safe deposit box at a bank would be an ideal place to keep this.) Some copyright owners are inclined to rely on this method as their only form of protection in order to save the cost of the registration, but this is not recommended. This is what is commonly referred to as a “poor man’s copyright”.
Patents:
Patent registration is for protecting a unique innovation that you have created. You provide information about how your invention works in exchange for a temporary monopoly on its use and reproduction. The duration of patent registration depends on the category of the invention. If someone else makes significant improvements on your invention, it is possible that your patent will become obsolete before its protection expires.
Industrial Designs:
An industrial design registration protects a unique characteristic of your product that does not result in a functional difference. Your product functions exactly the same as your competitors’ products, but looks different due to your design choices.
