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Ontario|Intellectual PropertyGeneral Information 291 What is Intellectual Property? Intellectual property deals with products, words, ideas, and inventions that are created by individuals and companies. The law gives the creator certain rights such as the right to stop others from using or selling an invention. There are several ways to protect your original ideas and inventions from being copied or used by someone else.
Depending on what type of idea or invention you want to try to protect, you will need one or more of a patent, a trademark, a copyright, an industrial design, a trade secret, and/or integrated circuit topography.
For example, if you have an "invention", you may apply for a patent. You can protect your brand or logo, word, symbol or picture or a combination of these as a trademark. You can prohibit others from copying your literary, artistic, dramatic, or musical works, or your computer software with copyright. You can protect the shape, pattern or ornamentation of an industrially produced object with an industrial design.
Refer to other sections of Legal Line for more information on the different types of intellectual property. A lawyer can also provide more information and help you determine which type of intellectual property best meets your needs.
PATENTS
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