Canadian Intellectual Property Law for Dummies

(IE Canada)

Miltons IP (http://www.miltonsip.com/), an Ottawa-based intellectual property law firm, today announced the release of Canadian Intellectual Property Law For Dummies, co-authored by company founder, Neil Milton.

Data released last year indicates that Canada is faring poorly at commercializing intellectual property, when compared with its industrialized counterparts around the world. A report by the Conference Board of Canada on Innovation released in October 2008, ranked Canada 13th of 17 countries in triadic patents per million population, defined as “those submitted for the same invention to patent offices in the U.S., E.U., and Japan.” The report referred to patenting as “a means of gauging how well countries transform knowledge into useable inventions,” and recommended that if Canada is to improve its standing in the world, there must be “more invention and patenting of inventions at home, as well as more strategic patenting of inventions from elsewhere.”

“Countries like Sweden are filing patents and trademarks at a rate at least four times that of Canada, despite the fact that we’re an intelligent, industrialized nation,” said Neil Milton, author. “Part of the reason for this innovation gap is that individuals are daunted by intellectual property and unaware of how to protect their ideas and how to make money from them.

“If we can provide Canadian small business owners and inventors with a solid understanding of the basics of intellectual property, more will take action to protect their IP and exercise their rights, which is good not only for the individual, but the Canadian economy as a whole.”

Miltons IP joined together with Wiley, the publisher of the popular For Dummies reference book series to create a resource for Canadians that outlines core intellectual property rights, how to make money from IP (whether your own or others), and a series of checklists.

The book contains a primer on the various types of intellectual property assets, from patents and trademarks, to copyrights and industrial designs. Each of the introductory chapters deals with one type of protection, provides definitions, pros and cons and instructs how to protect one’s IP rights. Later chapters discuss how to profit from IP and how to enforce one’s IP rights. A chapter on deriving income from someone else’s IP through licensing follows later in the book, with the final chapter dispelling some common misconceptions about IP.

Export Development Canada, Canada’s export credit agency that provides financing, insurance and risk management solutions to help Canadian exporters and investors expand their international business, recognizes the need for such a resource and will be distributing the book to its clients in the information and communications technology and light manufacturing sectors.

Canadian Intellectual Property Law For Dummies is not available in stores. Rather, it is available free of charge through http://www.canadian-ip.com/. Site visitors enter their mailing address on the site and can expect to receive their copy by mail within 10 business days.