Review of Intellectual Property and E-Commerce - Article Example

Unfortunately, with infinite quantities of information being published on the internet, the protection of intellectual property rights has been introduced to protect various brands and products from unscrupulous vendors. Notably, countries around the world have been striving to best utilize technological advancement. Among these countries, Canada has efficiently been able to take benefits of e-business, as the country is witnessing an increasing trend of business transactions based on electronic links and data exchange between the sellers and the customers. Accordingly, it was reported by Statistics Canada in its ‘Internet use survey’ that the people of Canada are making greater and more diverse use of the internet and in 2010 nearly 79 percent of the Canadian household had internet access, while 81 percent in metropolitan and 71 percent in rural areas possessed internet access (The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited, “Intellectual Property and E-Commerce”).

Intellectual property includes the creation of minds such as names, symbols, and designs that are used in e-business or general commercial activities as well as artistic works. There have been several Acts being enacted to protect these e-business intellectual properties including the patent rights, Trade Marks Act, Industrial Design Act, and Copyright Act among others. These require the inventor to register patents, symbols, designs, music, and artistic work with respective Acts or the agencies dealing with such activities. Any infringement relating to intellectual property permits the licensers and the licensees to sue against the third party under the Canadian intellectual property rights (The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited, “Intellectual Property and E-Commerce”). 

Privacy is a major issue that is concerned with e-business while conducting business online. Privacy issues include the right to privacy and the right to publicity. Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) is the vital government agency responsible for processing and registering claims regarding e-business intellectual property. Application for patents, industrial design, trademarks, and copyrights is required to be mailed or faxed to the specialist unit of CIPO. However, CIPO does not guarantee the presentation or full protection of intellectual property. Nonetheless, it helps and supports any legal actions (Canadian Intellectual Property Office, “Adapting to Changing Realities”).

While dealing with ethics in e-business, written words, pictures, videos, and what is being portrayed about the company on the website must be real and factual. Canadian federal legislation ensures the protection of the information that is gathered and utilized or disclosed during e-business activities (The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited, “Intellectual Property and E-Commerce”).