Stand out on the internet through innovation and creativity

2011-01-01

STANDOUTONTHEINTERNETTHROUGHINNOVATIONANDCREATIVITY

MARCELNAUD*
ROBIC,
LLP
L
AWYERS,PATENTANDTRADE-MARKSAGENTS

Businesseswhichhavedurablesuccessnotonlymanagetodevelopcertain
competitiveadvantages,butalsotoproperlyprotectthemoracquireothers.Internet
hasnowbecomeaplayingfieldinwhichoncedominatingplayersarethreatened,
whileothermoreagileplayersmanagetoidentifyopportunitiesandbestexploit
networkpotential,eitherbyofferinginnovativeproductsorservicesorbywisely
computerizingtheiroperations.
IfitwerenecessarytoidentifysomecurrentITfactorslikelytomakebusinesses
moreperformant,thefollowingpointsamongotherswouldhavetobeconsidered:

1)On-lineAdvertising
ServicessuchasAdwords®byGooglehavemadeweb-basedcontextpublicity
advertisingtopracticallyeveryone.Itishowevernecessarytoalsotrytooptimizeits
positioninginsearchengineresultsonthebasisofcertainkeywords,whileavoiding
theuseoftrade-namesorproductsthataretoodescriptive.Ontheotherhand,
advertisingmaybeconsideredunfaircompetitionwhenitattractspublicattentionina
waythatcausesconfusionbetweenthewaresandservicesofonebusinessand
thoseofanother,whichisprohibitedundertheTrade-MarksAct.

2)The“apprush”
Inthe1990s,manybusinesspersonswereaheadofthecompetitionwhenwebsites
becameessentialforadvertisingand,insomecases,eventooperateabusiness.
Today,amassmigrationofInternetusersandsoftwaredeveloperstomobiledevices
(smartphonesandtabletscomputers)isanewopportunityforbusinessestostand
outiftheydevelop,beforetheircompetitorsorbetterthantheydo,mobile
applicationswhichprovideforinnovativewaysofinteractingwiththeircustomersand
deliveringproductsandservicestothem.Todoso,thesebusinessesmustbesureto

©CIPS,2011.
*WithROBIC,LLPamultidisciplinaryfirmofLawyers,andPatentandTrade-markAgents.Published
intheWinter2011Newsletterofthefirm(Vol.14,No.4).Publication068.128E.

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havecopyrightintheapplicationorholdaproperlicenceundertheCopyrightAct,the
conditionsofwhichhavebeennegotiatedwiththesupplier,asthecasemaybe.

3)SocialNetworkinginBusiness
Businessesarebeginningtorealizetheadvantagesofusingprivatesocialnetworks
whichrevitalizethecontentoftheirintranetsorextranets,especiallyregarding
knowledgemanagement,sharingand,inabroaderaspect,cooperationand
coordinationinworktobeperformed.
4)“Crowdsourcing”
Thereexistsan“openoutsourcing”practicewhichisbasedontheconceptofopen
sourcesoftwaredevelopmentbutwhichappliestootherfields.Itinvolvestheuseof
creativeabilities,knowledgeandtheknow-howofallInternetuserstodiscoverthe
bestpossiblesolutiontoaproblemwhichconcernsbusiness,implementingaspecific
projectorcreatingattractivecompilationsofcontent(text,music,photographs,films,
data,etc.),atalowercost.Onceagain,prioragreementsshouldbeenteredintowith
contributorstoensurethat,ifappropriate,thebusinessistheownerofallintellectual
propertyrightsresultingfromtheseinnovationsorcreations.

5)UseofPersonalInformation
Theincreaseofon-lineactivitiesandtherequirementforInternetuserstoregister
andidentifythemselvesofferbusinessessomeinterestingpossibilitiesforcollecting,
analyzingandusingdata.Whendealingwithpersonalinformationhowever,itis
importanttoensurethatthepoliciesandpracticesofthebusinessregardingthe
protectionofsuchinformationareincompliancewithlegislationgoverningthe
protectionofsuchinformation,suchastheActrespectingtheProtectionofPersonal
InformationinthePrivateSectorwhichappliesinQuebec.

ROBIC,ungrouped’avocatsetd’agentsdebrevetsetdemarquesdecommercevouédepuis1892à
laprotectionetàlavalorisationdelapropriétéintellectuelledanstouslesdomaines:brevets,dessins
industrielsetmodèlesutilitaires;marquesdecommerce,marquesdecertificationetappellations
d’origine;droitsd’auteur,propriétélittéraireetartistique,droitsvoisinsetdel’artisteinterprète;
informatique,logicielsetcircuitsintégrés;biotechnologies,pharmaceutiquesetobtentionsvégétales;
secretsdecommerce,know-howetconcurrence;licences,franchisesettransfertsdetechnologies;

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commerceélectronique,distributionetdroitdesaffaires;marquage,publicitéetétiquetage;poursuite,
litigeetarbitrage;vérificationdiligenteetaudit.ROBIC,agroupoflawyersandofpatentand
trademarkagentsdedicatedsince1892totheprotectionandthevalorizationofallfieldsofintellectual
property:patents,industrialdesignsandutilitypatents;trademarks,certificationmarksandindications
oforigin;copyrightandentertainmentlaw,artistsandperformers,neighbouringrights;computer,
softwareandintegratedcircuits;biotechnologies,pharmaceuticalsandplantbreeders;tradesecrets,
know-how,competitionandanti-trust;licensing,franchisingandtechnologytransfers;e-commerce,
distributionandbusinesslaw;marketing,publicityandlabelling;prosecutionlitigationandarbitration;
duediligence.
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