Take advantage of guidance tailored for Canadian small and medium enterprises to make better decisions and avoid mistakes. Deepen your understanding to enter, grow and succeed in the United States (U.S.) market.
Intellectual property considerations for Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises in the United States
Practical intellectual property (IP) considerations in the U.S.
Best practices
IP scams and predatory IP marketing
Learn how to identify scams and predatory tactics
Finding an IP expert
Learn what to look for when searching for an IP expert
Protecting Data Compilations in the U.S.
Learn why data collections have economic and social value. Can you protect them?
Contracts
Impact of Bayh Dole on joint Canada and U.S. R&D
Do you own your IP? Learn about some key considerations that stem from the Bayh Dole act
The importance of IP indemnification clauses
Learn about a few potentially costly mistakes that may infringe on IP rights and how to avoid them
Choice of venue for patent litigation in the U.S
Key considerations on the choice of venue for patent litigation
Hiring employees and contractors in the U.S
Discover some of the key considerations when deciding if you will be using employees or contractors in the U.S
Employment contract and IP ownership
Find out about key contract clauses when hiring staff to protect your IP
Venture capital
How to make your IP portfolio attractive to a U.S. investor
Explore how to prepare for venture capital (VC) funding
Preparing the IP portfolio for fundraising or exit
Learn about key IP considerations that investors will care about, whether you are raising capital or exiting
Trade secrets
Competitive advantage in the U.S.
Find out how to use trade secrets to sustain a competitive advantage in the US
Reverse engineering considerations
Explore the applicable considerations to protect against reverse engineering and if you are doing reverse engineering
Trade secrets and location where data is stored
Learn about considerations if your trade secrets are stored in the U.S. – the Patriot Act
Patents
Considerations with U.S. provisional patent applications
Learn about the opportunities and risk with provisional applications specific to the U.S. that can be used to secure a priority date
Using U.S. patents to protect innovation
Learn about the difference between utility patents, design patents and utility model patents and key considerations when seeking a patent
Considerations with U.S patent marking
Find out when and how to use IP marking as a visual notice to the public that you hold IP rights
Leveraging patent databases to support U.S market expansion
Learn how to use patent searching to improve your competitive intelligence
Public disclosure and offers for sale
Learn how unintentional disclosures and offers for sale could impact your patent eligibility
Navigate the patent system
Read about umbrella patents, provisional applications, patent prosecution highway, Patent Cooperation Treaty
Copyright
Protecting software patents
Read about patent, copyright and trade secrets for software
Open-source software and copyright license infringement
Learn about due diligence considerations with your use of open source software
Benefits of Copyright registration in the US
Explore the added values of registering your copyright
Canadian vs. U.S. Copyright protection
Read about registration, displaying your copyright ownership and infringement
Trademark
U.S. trademark registrations
Find out what you need to know and think about if you are using a trademark in the U.S.
Sufficient proof of use of Trademarks
Use of a trademark is key in Trademark law - Learn how to provide proof of Trademark use in the U.S.
Considerations regarding Trademark confusion
Learn about Trademark confusion and how ignoring it could place your company at risk of infringement