2021-02-12
As you are developing and building a business, you may want to brush up on your patent laws to help protect yourself and your business. In addition to organizing your marketing plans and business strategies, you should also be aware of what legal paperwork you need to go through to run your business properly.
People unfamiliar with intellectual property rights laws can be unaware of what constitutes a patent, trademark, copyright, or industrial design. Each protects a specific type of intellectual property. In Canada, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) provides services related to the protection of patents, trademarks, copyright, and industrial design.
What Is an Industrial Design?
Unlike patents which protect functional elements, industrial designs protect the specific look of a product. For example, a phone's specific shape, a specific jewelry design and ornamentation on cutlery are all potentially protectable with industrial designs.
How Does the Industrial Design Act Affect My Business?
The Industrial Design Act allows a business to have exclusive rights for the three-dimensional features and configuration of a product and the two-dimensional features and configurations of a specific pattern or ornament. This can also apply to the color of a finished article. In Canada, this right can last for as long as 15 years, allowing you to maintain and protect your unique product designs.
For manufacturing establishments, the Industrial Design Act allows business owners to gain a competitive edge against their competitors by protecting their product's unique design. Since effective aesthetics contributes to customer appeal, it's necessary to maintain the rights to a novel design profitable to a business.
Why Should I Register My Industrial Design?
Competitive advantage is a necessary part of ensuring your business's success. Having a registered industrial design gives you the exclusive right to prevent others from selling or importing your products commercially.
Besides the security it gives to your product line, having an industrial design registration can increase your company's potential to attract investors. A business with intellectual property assets is more likely to attract business partners and investors. Larger companies can offer mergers with start-ups with promising products and services in niche markets in some cases. This is why it can be beneficial for business owners to protect their business's processes and products.
Like any intellectual property, you can potential sell or use a valuable industrial design as collateral to secure loans. Since credit companies can estimate a products' potential profit margin, they may be able to give you a fair assessment of its potential to grant you your loan.
Conclusion
Recognition can be a crucial part of your business's success, which is why brand visibility in different forms us best when unique and appealing to your target audience. Any infringement of your brand elements, whether in execution or product design, needs to be handled accordingly to defend your right as a business owner.
Although CIPO grants rights to industrial designs, it is your responsibility to monitor the marketplace for copycats and infringements. If you see unaffiliated retailers selling your products' signature look, you should contact an Intellectual Property (IP) agent or lawyer to provide assistance.
If you are looking for assistance from an intellectual property agent or lawyer in Alberta to protect your industrial design, contact us.
