If you’re wondering how to get these grand-looking symbols (® / ™ / ©) for your product or business, then you may want to talk to an intellectual property lawyer. But what does an intellectual property lawyer do in Canada and how can they help you or your business when it comes to your intellectual property rights?
What does an intellectual property lawyer do in Canada?
Intellectual property lawyers are professionals who help protect your ideas and creations, ensuring your intellectual property (IP) remains safe from infringement. They can also walk you through the Canadian laws and regulations that are related to IPs.
In Canada, IPs can be divided into different types:
- copyright
- industrial designs
- patents
- trademarks
- trade secrets
As such, whatever specific type of IP you’re working on or you currently have in your portfolio, an intellectual property lawyer is there to help you with these three main things:
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protection: IP lawyers can advise you the ways to protect your IP, such as establishing systems within your organization and other legal means
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enforcement: when someone else tries to steal or use your IP without your permission, IP lawyers can help you enforce your legal IP rights
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commercialization: IP lawyers can also help you put your IPs to work by helping you and your business earn, such as through third-party licensing
Here’s a quick video of the basics of IP law in Canada, for which an intellectual property lawyer can help you with:
We’ll explain below the roles and responsibilities of an intellectual property lawyer. When looking for one, you can use our directory of the best intellectual property lawyers in Canada as ranked by Lexpert.
Protection of IP rights
While there are a lot of ways to protect your IP rights, registration or legalizing your ownership over them is the most basic of it all. Each type of IP has their own process of registration before the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), the federal agency tasked with IP protection and registration.
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applying for a patent or trademark: with the help of a patent or trademark agent, or if your IP lawyer is also an agent, your new inventions can be patented or trademarked with the CIPO
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registering a copyright: although a copyright automatically attaches when your original work is created, registering a copyright with the help of an IP lawyer will give you an additional protection in case of infringement
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applying for an industrial design: after publishing your industrial design, you have specific period (within 12 months) from publication to register your design through the assistance of an IP lawyer
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protecting a trade secret: since trade secrets have no formal process for its registration, an IP lawyer can still help you protect them through other means, such as non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) or confidentiality agreements/clauses
International protection of IPs
When doing business outside Canada, the more that you need the assistance of an intellectual property lawyer. In this case, you’ll need to understand first the IP laws of the other country. This may also require you to register your IP before international bodies or in domestic agencies of the country you’ll be doing business in.
Litigation and enforcement of IP rights
Infringement of your IPs will prompt you to enforce your rights over these IPs. Generally, an infringement of intellectual property happens when an unauthorized person or organization uses, copies, or reproduces your IPs, especially when it’s done for their profit or to the detriment of your business. However, there are specific ways where infringement can happen, depending on the type of IP that you have. Under the law, there are corresponding penalties to be imposed on the infringer, which can either be civil or criminal in nature.
With the help an intellectual property lawyer, you can enforce your IP rights through the following ways:
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contacting directly the alleged infringer, which is by sending a cease-and-desist letter or through other means of communications
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engaging in any of the methods of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), such as negotiation, mediation, or arbitration
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when all else fails, to litigate your claims before the court, i.e., by filing a case against the alleged infringer
To know what course of action you should take, you must first consult with an intellectual property lawyer. They will know what method of enforcement is best for you, considering the facts of the case and of the alleged infringement.
Commercializing your IPs
Aside from protecting and enforcing your IP rights, it’s important to take advantage of its potential for your business. This may involve:
- selling your IPs to another entity
- licensing someone to the use of your IPs
- assigning your IP rights to another
- entering into franchise agreements
- forming a partnership or joint venture
Because there are several legalities that you should consider before doing any of these, it’s important that you’re guided by an intellectual property lawyer. This will also ensure that you’re not being lowballed by the other party’s offer and that you get the best out of these deals.
What are the laws that intellectual property lawyers are experts of?
In Canada, there are several areas of IPs which have their own federal law. These laws define what they are, how they can be protected (or registered if needed), and what constitutes IP infringement.
These federal laws are the following:
- Copyright Act
- Industrial Design Act
- Patent Act
- Trademarks Act
The only exception are trade secrets, which are only protected and enforced through contractual means, common law, the federal Criminal Code, and Québec’s Civil Code.
Intellectual property lawyers are experts in these laws, including their interpretation when you need help with your own IP rights. Again, these lawyers can help you not just in litigating in court when there’s infringement, but also in protecting them in the first place.
Regulations of the CIPO
To add to these federal laws are the regulations released by the CIPO and other related agencies. These regulations implement the provisions of these federal statutes with greater specificity. As such, learning the federal law must be done along with its appropriate regulations. For this matter, an intellectual property lawyer is your best go-to.
To know more about what an intellectual property lawyer does, you can also reach out to the Lexpert-ranked best intellectual property law firms in Canada.