CyberGuide
Intellectual Property
FROM: JUL-AUG 2006 ISSUE | BY ROBIN DAY
The subject of intellectual property (IP) has been in the news lately, as the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games continues to clamp down on businesses and individuals using the symbols of the Games without authorization. The stories made me wonder about IP laws and what resources might be available.
http://cipo.gc.ca/
In Canada, IP law falls under the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, an agency of Industry Canada. Its website is a gold mine of information on patents, trademarks, copyrights, and other related topics. If you want to get a feel for what IP is all about, check out the IP toolkit.
www.ipic.ca/
The Intellectual Property Institute of Canada is another valuable resource. Members of this national association include lawyers specializing in IP, patent agents, and trademark agents.
www.uspto.gov/
If you are looking for information about American IP laws, the U.S. Patent and Trade Mark Office's comprehensive website provides a wealth of legal information, as well as an online filing service for those who want to file a patent.
www.wto.org/
The World Trade Organization plays an important role when it comes to IP rights for companies doing business abroad. The site includes information on effective dispute resolution mechanisms.
IP rights are an important asset and need to be managed effectively. And unless you want to end up on the wrong end of a lawsuit of Olympic proportions, you might want to check into IP rights before using that new logo with the five rings and the fancy little torch.
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Robin Day, MBA, CGA, teaches financial management at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. He is also president of Virtual Information Technologies Inc.E-mail rday@virtualit.ca.