Industrial Designs In Canada: Protecting Your Product’s Appearance

Who this is for: Product designers, IP counsel, and brand managers at foreign companies launching consumer products, medical devices, electronics, packaging, furniture, or other goods in Canada where visual differentiation drives purchasing decisions. Industrial design registration is one of the most cost-effective and underused forms of IP protection available in Canada, and for foreign companies focused on patent and trademark filings, it is frequently the one that gets overlooked until a competitor launches a look-alike product. 

The protection gap most foreign companies discover too late: Foreign companies entering Canada often assume that copyright provides sufficient protection for the appearance of their products because the design originated with a designer. While copyright may subsist automatically in design drawings and other artistic works, Canadian law limits the extent to which copyright can be used to prevent the reproduction of designs embodied in mass-produced useful