1. Relevant Authorities and Legislation
1.1 What is the relevant Design authority in your
jurisdiction?
The primary design authority in Canada is the Industrial Design
Office, which is a part of the Trademarks and Industrial Designs
Branch of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office
(“CIPO”).
1.2 What is the relevant Design legislation in your
jurisdiction?
Registration of industrial designs is governed by
the Industrial Design Act and
the Industrial Design Regulations (the
“Act” and “Regulations”, respectively).
However, in some cases, the Copyright Act and/or
the Trademarks Act can also provide protection
for industrial designs.
The Copyright Act expressly excludes
protection for industrial designs applied to an article having a
utilitarian function that has been reproduced in more than 50
items. However, there are exceptions to this exclusion, including
graphic or photographic representations applied to the face of an
article, and designs that are
