The protection of intellectual property is primarily a federal
responsibility and is the subject of four principal federal
statutes: Patent Act, Trade-marks Act,
Copyright Act, and Industrial Design Act.
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office of Industry Canada
administers these statutes. However, matters like the unauthorized
use of a trademark (known as "the law of passing off") or
the misuse of a trade secret fall within provincial jurisdiction.
In certain circumstances, the federal and provincial jurisdictions
will overlap, as is the case with passing off, which is also
covered in the Trade-marks Act.
Patents
The Patent Act establishes what is known as a
"first to file" system. In Canada, the first applicant to
file a patent application for an invention will be entitled to
obtain patent protection for that invention.
