Product Packaging
Product packaging can be protected by copyright. This protection
subsists concurrently with trademark protection.
The expression of brand image and other information on product
packaging may be protected under the Copyright Act.
Copyright protection in Canada does not depend on registration or
other formal steps. Copyright subsists automatically without any
act beyond the creation of an original literary or artistic work or
compilation. Registration is permissive but prudent if it is likely
an action will be brought for infringement.
Originality
Copyright subsists only in original works. The
originality required by the Act relates to the expression of
thought in which the work is presented. For a work to be
"original" it must be more than a mere copy of another
work. At the same time, it need not be creative in the sense of
being novel or unique.
