Copyrights & Trademarks

As the creator of intellectual property, you are automatically given some legal protection through copyright against others claiming that property as their own. A copyright essentially means the right to copy remains with you. A trademark is legal protection for the name of a commercial product.

Copyright - The legal definition as taken from the Canadian Copyright Act, copyright is defined as "the sole right to produce or reproduce the work or any substantial part thereof in any material form...." Copyright applies to the expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves.
What can be Copyrighted? All original literary, musical, dramatic and artistic works are copyrighted automatically when they are created and fixed in a copy for the first time; no other action is required. Protection lasts for the life of the author plus 50 years in Canada and 70 years plus author in the US. Copyright notice (©) is not required, but is recommended as is the first year of publication and the name of the copyright holder, for example: © 1998, UTI
Registration - In Canada, copyrights can be registered as another level of protection. The work is registered as literary, dramatic, musical or artistic. Computer programs are considered literary works (they can also be patented). Multimedia programs are literary-artistic or literary-musical. There is a fee of $65 and the registered copyright symbol (®) is used. The U.S. has six categories for registering copyrights on various types of creative works. There is a US$20 filing fee and a copy or copies of the work must be deposited. The U.S. has special provisions for computer programs which may require deposit of the source code or up to 50 pages of the program. If the source code contains trade secrets or other confidential material, the U.S. Copyright Office will consider special relief requests.
What is a Trademark? A trademark is a word or symbol which a manufacturer or merchant places on products to distinguish them from similar products. The trademark, also called a logo or brand name, can include numbers, a word or words, slogan, symbol, design or any combination of these. It indicates a product of a certain manufacture, identity, quality or consistency.
What cannot be Trademarked? The Canada Trademarks Act sets out in detail what can and cannot be used as a Trademark; but generally, they fall into two categories - words or designs that are common property or cannot be removed from the language as exclusive property; or words which are immoral, deceptive or fraudulent.
Registration and Fees - It is not necessary to register a trademark but it is advisable. It is evidence of ownership and more easily defendable. There is a nominal fee for a trademark application and issuance of a registration certificate.
Enforcement - The Trademark Office does not do enforcement; it is up to the owner of the trademark to control its use. The greatest danger is "general adoption of the trademark as a generic term". In other words, the trademark becomes part of the general language and can be declared generic. Trademarked items can be marked with a 'TM' symbol or a ® symbol if registered.

Patenting and Trademarking, like any international application of law, can be extremely complex. UTI has the training, experience and expertise to guide you through the important decisions involved in these protection areas and other aspects of technology commercialization.