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What is Intellectual Property?
Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and
artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce. Intellectual
property is divided into two categories: Industrial property, which includes inventions
(patents), trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic indications of source;
and Copyright, which includes literary and artistic works such as novels, poems
and plays, films, musical works, artistic works such as drawings, paintings, photographs
and sculptures, and architectural designs. Rights related to copyright include those
of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings,
and those of broadcasters in their radio and television programs.
Authors, artists, inventors and start-ups depend upon their creative works and inventions
for survival in this economy. The goal of Opara Law PC is to help you enforce your
intellectual property rights.
As a Intellectual Property Law Firm Opara Law PC provides legal services in all
areas of intellectual property law, including patents, trademarks Attorney and
copyrights. Our Intellectual Property Group provides comprehensive and specialized
advice and legal services in all aspects of domestic and international intellectual
property rights, including Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights and Trade Secrets, each
of which is briefly explained below.
Our Services Include:
• Patent infringement opinions
• Patent availability and validity opinions
• Patent filing and prosecutions
• Registration of Trademarks and Copyrights
• Acquisition and exploitation of Trademarks and Copyrights
• Protection and enforcement of Trademarks and Copyrights
• Development & securing of goodwill and trade secrets
• Protection of corporate and business names
• Trademark clearance searches & risk analysis
• Protection of logos, label, design and packaging
• Trademark oppositions & cancellation proceedings
• Drafting licensing agreements for transfer of technology
Types of Intellectual Property
Copyright protects various forms of expression, such as text, sound, drama, photographs,
drawings, designs, art, software, computer programs etc. Copyright in a work exists
automatically within Canada, though some advantages may be obtained by registration
of a work, or by providing a copyright notice on the work to the public. In Canada,
registration of a Copyright is valid for the life of the author plus 50 years from
the registration date shown on the certificate.
Opara Law PC assists copyright owners in obtaining copyright registrations, and
has extensive experience in protecting the copyrights of its clients. TO obtain
our quote for Copyrights, please click here
Patents (Canada, USA, International)
A Patent allows an inventor to profit from his invention by providing protection
for the features and processes that make things work. A Patent protects a product
or a process that has practical application. In general, Patents protect something
if it is how the thing works that makes it valuable. Products include anything under
the sun that is made by man including machines, apparatus, tools, and compositions
of matter. A process may be any process having a practical application. A Patent
gives you the right to stop others from copying, manufacturing, selling, and importing
your invention without your permission. In other words, a Patent excludes others
from making, using and selling the product or process that is claimed in the Patent,
in the country in which the patent is issued, for a certain period of time. In Canada,
a Patent lasts 20 years from the date of its application, for applications filed
since 1 October 1989. In the United States, a Patent also lasts for 20 years from
the date of the first filed U.S. application; however, for applications filed since
29 May 2000, the term may be extended based on any delays in issuance of the Patent
caused by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A patent must be first drafted,
then filed, prosecuted, issued and then maintained in each country in which protection
is desired. The existence of your Patent may be enough on its own to stop others
from trying to exploit your invention. If it does not, it gives you the right to
commence legal action against those attempting to exploit your invention and claim
damages.
A Patent grants you the following rights:
• Right to sell the invention and all its intellectual property rights
• Right to license the invention to someone else while retaining all the intellectual
property rights
• Right to discuss the invention with others in order to set up a business to carry
out the invention
Opara Law PC prepares, files, prosecutes and litigates patents directly in Canada
and US, and throughout the world through a network of associates. To obtain our
quote for Patents, please click here
For an introduction to some of the patent services
available on the web, the following websites may be useful:
• United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO):
www.uspto.gov
• Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO):
strategis.ic.gc.ca
A Trade-mark is a symbol, like logos and brand names that help to distinguish goods
and services from different persons. It must be capable of distinguishing your goods
and services from those of your competitors. It can be words, logos or a combination
of both. A Trad-emark is any mark that distinguishes a product or service provided
by one company from products or services provided by others. A Trade-mark enables
customers to easily recognize and identify your goods and/or services in the marketplace.
Trade-marks exist at common law by virtue of acquiring goodwill from extensive use.
However, a registered Trade-mark takes precedence over common law Trade-marks, and
registration of a Trade-mark, whether used or proposed to be used, is recommended.
You don’t need to have commenced use of a Trade-mark in order to file an application
for it. So long as you intend to use the Trade-mark in future, it is advisable to
apply for it immediately under “Proposed Use” otherwise someone else can file an
application before you and you will be precluded from applying for or using it when
you finally desire to commence using it.
A Trade-mark allows you to prevent others from using a mark, in the country in which
the Trade-mark is registered, in a manner that would be likely to be confusing with
the registered Trade-mark. In Canada, a registered Trade-mark is valid for 15 years
from the date of the registration, thereafter it may be renewed. In the United States,
a registered Trade-mark is valid for 10 years from the registration date, thereafter
it may be renewed.
Opara Law PC has extensive experience in the filing, prosecution and litigation
of Trade-marks in Canada and United States, and in other countries of the world.
To obtain our quote for Trade-marks, please
click here
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