INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN CANADA

In Canada, patent law is based on statute, specifically the Canadian Patent Act (RSC 1985, c P-4) and related regulations, including the Patent Rules (SOR/96-423) and Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (SOR/93/133), as interpreted and applied by the courts. Therefore, case law also plays a role as the source of law.

For seeking patent protection in Canada, an application has to be filed with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, which administers the entire process of patent grant.

Utility model protection is not available under the Canadian legislation.

In Canada, an invention that satisfies the conditions of originality, novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability, subjects to patentability.

Process patent and product patent are the two types of patents that can be protected.

The types of patent applications that can be filed include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.

In Canada, there is limited opportunity for one party to oppose the granting of another party's patent as there is no Canadian interference or opposition procedure to challenge a competitor's co-pending patent application. Canada does not have a patent opposition system at present; however, it does have related mechanisms, which allow third parties to intervene in the patent examination process before the grant of a patent or to challenge the grant of a patent after its grant.

For patents based on applications filed on or after 1st October 1989, the term of patent protection is twenty (20) years from the filing date. For patents based on applications filed before 1st October 1989, the term of patent protection is seventeen (17) years from the date on which the patent is issued.

The right of a patent is conditional on the payment of the annual maintenance fees.

The Industrial Design Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. I-9) - governs and deals with the mechanism of registration of industrial designs in Canada.

For getting an industrial design registered in Canada, an application has to be filed with the CIPO, which administers the entire process of registration.

Utility model protection isn't provided under industrial design protection in the nation.

Opposition against an industrial design application can't be raised in Canada. 

Once an industrial design application is approved, it will proceed to registration as soon as possible. The CIPO will issue a notification of Industrial Design Registration that includes a copy of the application, including the representation of the design, a Registration Details Report, and a Notice to Proprietors regarding the maintenance of exclusive right. Information about the registered design will be entered in the Register of Industrial Designs, a certified copy of which is admissible as evidence in any court.

The term for the exclusive right granted by the registration of your design begins on the date of registration and ends on the later of the end of ten (10) years after registration and fifteen (15) years from the Canadian filing date. In other words, you may get between ten (10) to fifteen (15) years of exclusive right. To maintain the exclusive right for its complete duration, a maintenance fee must be paid.

To maintain the exclusive right to the design beyond the initial five (05) years, the owner must pay the required maintenance fee no later than five (05) years after the registration date. This payment covers the remaining term of validity.

Late payment is possible within a grace period of six (06) months by paying a corresponding surcharge.

The Government of Canada, on March 26, 1998, made its accession to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works of September 9, 1886, as revised in Paris on July 24, 1971, and amended on September 28, 1979.

The Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) - is the basic legislation governing copyright protection in Canada

In Canada, copyright protection exists as soon as the work is created, provided that the conditions of the Act have been met. An application for copyright protection can also be filed at the copyright office, accompanied by the fee prescribed. The certificate of registration, including a registration number, is usually obtained within a period of two (02) weeks, which is issued by the Registrar of copyright that makes prima-facie evidence of ownership of copyright.

In general, works are protected under the Copyright Act during the author’s lifetime and for another fifty (50) years after the end of the calendar year of the author’s death. After that period ends, the work comes into the public domain and can be used by anyone without permission.

However, a recent translation or adaptation of a work in the public domain is protected by copyright for fifty (50) years after the death of the translator or adapter. For example, even though Shakespeare’s works are in the public domain, a recent translation or adaptation of any of those works would be protected by copyright.