Archive for the ‘Intellectual Property’ Category
All companies should know about the categories of intellectual property, with the main categories including Patents, Trademarks, Copyright, Industrial Designs, Trade Secrets, Integrated Circuit Topographies, and Plant Breeder’s Rights.
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Since the legalization of Cannabis here in Canada in October as of 2018, we have seen an influx of cannabis-based businesses looking to protect their intellectual property rights.
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Since the legalization of Cannabis here in Canada in October of 2018, we have seen an influx of cannabis-based businesses looking to protect their intellectual property rights.
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The recent decision of Ankenman Associates Architects Inc. v. 0981478 raises some interesting issues surrounding the intersection of copyright law, construction law, and the foreclosure process.
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If you are entwined in the world of new media or have just found yourself on YouTube or social networks lately, you may have noticed a number of sarcastic comments or videos.
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Since it began supplying Canadians with freshly brewed coffee in 1964, “Tim Hortons” has grown into one Canada’s most iconic corporate brands.
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Intellectual property lawyer Vanessa DeDominicis discusses the assumption that incorporation and ownership of a domain name entitles you to the use of a business name.
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Many people confuse trade names and trade-marks and think they acquire trade-mark rights by virtue of having a trade name.
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Trade-mark Agents offer professional services relating to the registration, maintenance and protection of trade-marks, i.e. a word, design, number, two dimensional or three-dimensional form, sound or colour, or a combination of two or more of these elements which a trader uses to distinguish his/her products or services from those of his/her competitors and serves to […]
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There are lots of questions about the new Canadian anti-spam legislation (commonly referred to as “CASL”) which comes into force on July 1, 2014 and there is lots of information online and elsewhere about what it will mean for marketing and email communications, however, there is not a lot of information about what this means for employers trying to communicate with their employees. CASL prohibits organizations from sending [...]
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On July 1, 2014, most sections of Canada’s new anti-spam legislation (“CASL”) will come into effect. Among other things, there are important new requirements for continuing to use e-mail and other electronic messages for “commercial” purposes. In most cases, businesses and other persons disseminating such “commercial electronic messages” will need the consent of the recipient.
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A question I often get asked is "Should I be using the ™ symbol or the ® symbol beside my trade-mark?" Believe it or not, there are no "marking" requirements for trade-marks under the Canadian Trade-marks Act, however, proper marking is an extremely important method of notifying consumers that a certain word or symbol is a protected trade-mark and goes a long way to preventing third party infringement as you are effectively putting third [...]
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Businesses will often create marketing material for their products/services, either in print or short video segments. A very common question I get from clients is “Can I use another person’s image in my video/marketing material without their consent?” In sum, the answer is no, it is not recommended that you use another person’s image without their consent, whether or not that person is famous.
This issue is governed by both privacy [...]
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There are many categories of intellectual property, but the main categories are: • Patents (Inventions)• Trade-Marks (Brand Names, Trade Names, Trade Dress)• Copyright (Expressions)• Industrial Designs (Ornamentation)• Trade-Secrets (Undisclosed Ideas)• Integrated Circuit Topographies (Chip Designs)• Plant Breeder’s Rights (New Plant Varieties) Most [...]
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Trademarks are a fundamental piece of marketing and branding for companies in today’s market. They serve as an indication of a source and a badge of quality for their products and services. Originally published in the Sep 14, 2012 issue of the Lawyers Weekly. Read the article here: http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/index.php?section=article&articleid=1738
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Trade-marks serve as an indication of a source and a badge of quality for their products and services. Trade-marks perform a key function in the marketplace and are of enormous value to businesses as they act as a sort of shortcut to get consumers to where they want to go. So, what should you look […]
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Many people confuse trade names and trade-marks and think they acquire trade-mark rights by virtue of having a trade name.
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Protecting your intellectual property is extremely important. For businesses, think of it as protecting the brand and image that is conveyed to the public. You want what they see to be within your control. Copyright registration gives you this control.Copyright applies to all original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works. This includes books, music, sculptures, paintings, photographs, films, plays, television programs, radio [...]
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This particularly “risky” domain is, you guessed it, the adult entertainment sponsored top level domain. This domain has finally been approved by ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). Unlike the .com, .ca, and .info domains, the .XXX domain cannot be registered by just anyone……it is limited to the adult entertainment industry (in a similar way to the ‘.gov’ sites being limited [...]
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Unfortunately for NBC Universal (“NBC”), along with the release of the final Harry Potter movie came the filing of a $1.5milion lawsuit against NBC. The Plaintiff, P22 Type Foundry (“P22”) is a company that designs typefaces. P22 are claiming that the font used on some Harry Potter merchandise (including a “Dementor Cap”, a “Hogwarts Stationery Set” and a “Hedwig Pillow”) was [...]
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We would like to take this opportunity to provide you with important information about protecting your intellectual property rights. This information is designed to assist you in evaluating your needs in that area.WHAT IS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY?
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Established and start-up businesses are repeatedly told of the importance of protecting their intellectual property, or “IP” as it is frequently called. Before this can be done however, it is necessary to understand what IP is and how to identify when valuable IP may exist and therefore need protecting. This article begins a series in the Legal Alert intended to first introduce what intellectual property is. [...]
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You update your computer software when new versions are released. You renew your insurance every year. You follow the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance schedule for your vehicle. And yet, when was the last time you checked to make sure your intellectual property (“IP”) was up to date. More importantly, do you know what your IP is?
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In this article of our series on intellectual property, we talk about aspects of obtaining international patent protection. Most of the previous articles have provided information on Canadian and US patent law. Many inventors also want to obtain patent protection in other countries outside of North America.
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Licensing or assigning your intellectual property rights (such as trade-marks, copyrights and patents) to other companies can generate lucrative license fees and royalties but it can also be a minefield. To protect yourself, it is imperative to get these licensing and/or assignment arrangements in writing so as to avoid costly litigation in the future.
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As of June 13, 2009, the popular social networking site, Facebook, now allows users to reserve their usernames as URLs (the general information for this is posted at: http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=90316352130).
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