- Have you done an audit to identify all your material intellectual property (which includes trademarks, patents, copyrights, industrial designs, domain names, social media accounts).
- Is all your material intellectual property protected through registrations, where applicable?
- Have you examined the chain of title to ensure that all your material intellectual property is owned by the right entity? (This includes patent assignments from inventors, copyright assignments from authors. It is also important to check if you have had a corporate reorganization or acquired a business).
- Are the trademarks being used properly (as registered – no revisions to design elements, and, as a trademark rather than a generic term)?
- Is all use of your trademarks, including by related companies, properly licensed?
- Have you considered the French language requirements if you are doing business in Québec?
- Do you have policies in place to address employee misuse of social media platforms?
- Are you taking appropriate steps to protect the confidentiality of your business information and any confidential information supplied to you by others?
- Do you have a process to screen new products or new processes to see whether they include any patentable inventions for which protection should be sought?
- Do you monitor the marketplace to see if competitors or others are improperly using any of your intellectual property?
Intellectual Property and Social Media: Top 10 Questions Legal Departments Should Consider
McMillan LLP
Contributor
McMillan is a leading business law firm serving public, private and not-for-profit clients across key industries in Canada, the United States and internationally. With recognized expertise and acknowledged leadership in major business sectors, we provide solutions-oriented legal advice through our offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal and Hong Kong. Our firm values – respect, teamwork, commitment, client service and professional excellence – are at the heart of McMillan’s commitment to serve our clients, our local communities and the legal profession.
1.Have you done an audit to identify all your material intellectual property (which includes trademarks, patents, copyrights, industrial designs, domain names, social media accounts).