Canadian Intellectual Property Office of Industry Canada

Intellectual property (IP) refers to the creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, as well as symbols, names, pictures, designs and models used in business. Patents, trade-marks, copyrights, and industrial designs are referred to as "IP rights." Just as rights are acquired when a building or land is purchased, IP rights are "property" in the sense that they are based on the legal right to exclude others from using the property.

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), a special operating agency of Industry Canada, is mainly responsible for the administration of the IP system in Canada. Having identified your IP assets, you can start putting in place strategies to safeguard them and prevent others from diminishing your competitive advantage. By learning how to exploit the wealth of strategic information contained in various IP databases, whether they are Canadian or international, you can give your business a competitive edge and really stand out from others.