CSWL-N103 - Intellectual Property Strategy for Industrial Designs

Course Description

Building on the knowledge gained in Introduction to IP and IP Strategy for Creative Entrepreneurs, this course, developed in partnership with the Faculty of Law, University of Windsor, Gilbert’s LLP, and eCampus Ontario, explores the law of industrial designs from a practical perspective, including how this body of IP can be used strategically to achieve entrepreneurial objectives. The course provides a wholistic view of what an industrial design is, the exclusive rights that attach to a registered industrial design, and how an industrial design is situated in respect to other forms of intellectual property. The course also examines practical aspects including how an industrial design can be utilized in a business setting, how an industrial design is registered, how the rights in an industrial design can be enforced, and how protection through industrial design is obtained in jurisdictions outside of Canada. The course empowers creative professionals with an understanding of their legal rights, so they may advocate for themselves and engage in informed discussions with legal professionals.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon successful completion of this course, students will learn:

• To understand what an industrial design is and recognize when they might have a design that could be registered in Canada,
• To determine if registering their design, as opposed to or in addition to a different form of intellectual property, will assist in achieving their entrepreneurial objectives,
• To register a design with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office,
• The available options and implications of enforcing the rights in their registered industrial designs.