1. Invention &Innovation Protecting Your Ideas!

2. An Invention  An Invention is the creation of something new  An Inventor “comes upon” a new idea  Some Inventions happen by accident ie Silly Puddy discovered when trying to invent synthetic rubber  Other inventions happen because someone takes the time to look for a solution to a problem – ie the fiberglass goalie mask

3. Innovation  An innovation is a change in something that already exists  Innovations sometimes happen by accident and sometimes by design  Ruth Wakefield created the chocolate chip cookie in 1933 by accident.  Most new ideas begin with a what if… question.

4. Protecting Your Ideas  Once you have come up with an idea, invention or innovation, there are a number of ways to protect it.  In Canada there are laws that protect intellectual property.  Laws and Regulations Laws and Regulations Laws and Regulations

5. Patents  Patents are granted for inventions which must be novel (first in the world), useful (functional and operative) and non- obvious to someone skilled in the art (inventive ingenuity). A patent gives the inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling their invention for twenty years from the date of filing the patent application

6. Copyrights  Copyright applies to all original literary, artistic, dramatic and musical works, including computer programs, and gives the creator the sole right to produce or reproduce a work or a substantial part of it in any form. Copyright also protects performances and sound recordings. Generally, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus fifty years.  By law all Canadians hold the copyright to any original work they created unless they were hired or employed to create it.

7. Trademarks  A trade-mark is a word, symbol, design, or a combination of these, used to distinguish the wares or services of one person or organization from those of others in the marketplace. Trade-mark registration gives one the exclusive right to use the mark across Canada for fifteen years, renewable every fifteen years thereafter.

8. Trademarks  Trademarks come in three basic categories:  Ordinary Marks- are words or symbols that distinguish the wares or services of a specific firm or individual  Certification Marks- identify wares or services that meet a standard. They are owned by one person but licensed to others to identify acceptable wares or services  Distinguishing Guises- refer to a unique shape of a product or its package – such as the distinctive shape of a coke bottle

9. Famous logos and trademarks

10. Ordinary Marks  ICONIGRAM - Specialists in trademarks, logos, icons, corporate identity, branding, corporate communications and graphic design ICONIGRAM - Specialists in trademarks, logos, icons, corporate identity, branding, corporate communications and graphic design ICONIGRAM - Specialists in trademarks, logos, icons, corporate identity, branding, corporate communications and graphic design

11. Industrial Design Act  An industrial design is anything made by hand, tool or machine that has distinctive features such as a shape of a chair or the decoration on the handle of a spoon.  Once the design is registered, the designer (called a proprietor) has exclusive rights to the design for 10 years.

12. Integrated Circuit Topography Act  ICT are electronic integrated circuits or IC products that are configured and interconnected.  The act gives the creator exclusive rights for a period of ten years after registration.  Because these products are often exported outside of Canada, Canada has reciprocal agreements with other countries that also protect the design for 10 years.