A discussion on

Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Infringement

Laws 252: The Role of International Law in Business

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A discussion on Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Infringement

Before discussing, I want to establish key terms to keep the word count low. I will be
referring to Copyright, Patent, and Trademark as Intellectual Property (IP), and the topic of this
discussion is how they are infringed.
Infringement happens when a person uses a protected IP that violates the rights placed upon
it. This can be the unauthorized copy, distribution, and public display of copyrighted material
(Canadian Intellectual Property Office [CIPO], 2021a), reproduction of patented invention without
a license (CIPO, 2021b) or misuse and misrepresentation of a trademark (CIPO, 2021c). How
countries implement their intellectual property protection law is very interesting. Knowing that
despite China’s best efforts to uphold IP protections, it continues to carry the reputation as the
place to go for counterfeits (Maher, n.d.). Also, finding out that Japan lacks the “fair use” or “fair
dealing” doctrines (apart from some very few equivalent exemptions on their Copyright Act) that
the US and Canada have (Kasahara, n.d.). This made me want to look more into “International” IP
Law.
After further research into local Canadian Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Laws and
comparing similar laws from other countries, I have found out that despite how often we are
exposed to intellectual property from brand logos, the devices we use, and the software we use on
those devices that there is no International Intellectual Property Law (Muller F., 2015). Which
arguably could be a good thing.
Instead, we have treaties and conventions agreed upon by several countries, which work
well. Considering this course is called “The Role of International Law in Business,” I thought there
would be a form of international copyright, patent, or trademark law, but I digress.
To protect the creators' IP, all, if not most, countries should create a form of IP protection
that is best suited to them. My casual look at the Berne and Paris Convention, Madrid Agreement
and Protocol, National Treatment, TRIPS, and WIPO excites me as an Artist. I want to learn more
about these IP protection treaties in the future.
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REFERENCES

Canadian Intellectual Property Office. (2021a, March 19). Copyright infringement. Government
of Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Office of the
Deputy Minister. https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canadian-intellectual-property-
office/en/copyright-infringement

Canadian Intellectual Property Office. (2021b, March 19). Patent Theft. Government of Canada,
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Office of the Deputy Minister.
https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canadian-intellectual-property-office/en/patent-theft

Canadian Intellectual Property Office. (2021c, March 19). Trademark infringement. Government
of Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Office of the
Deputy Minister. https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canadian-intellectual-property-
office/en/trademark-infringement

Kasahara, C. (n.d.). Getting The Through Copyright Japan 2012. AP LAW Japan.
https://www.aplawjapan.com/archives/pdf/file/GettingtheDealThroughCopyright2012Jap
an.pdf

Maher, M. R. (n.d.). A Brief Analysis of the Chinese Intellectual Property Regime. Center for
Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection. https://a-capp.msu.edu/article/a-brief-
analysis-of-the-chinese-intellectual-property-regime/

Muller, F. (2015, June 3). International IP Law: Crash course intellectual property #6. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pgEPKAKrtQ