The CDPA Designs and Patents Act

Copyright

• The act defines materials which can be copyrighted as including "original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works, sound recordings, films, broadcasts or cable programs and the typographical arrangement of published editions." It defines the terms of copyrights as being 50 years past the end of the calendar year in which the creator dies for literary, musical or dramatic works. For computer-generated work, the duration is 50 years from when the work was created. For films, cable and broadcast programs, the duration is 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it was made, released or broadcast.
  
  

Designs

• According to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), designs are defined as "the physical appearance and visual appeal of products." Designs may be registered and enjoy protection for "15 years from the end of the calendar year in which the design was first recorded in a design document or an article was first made to the design, whichever first occurred," according to the CDPA.
  
  

Patents

• The IPO uses three criteria to determine if an invention may be patented. The invention must be new, it must require an inventive step not obvious to someone in the field and must be capable of being made or used in some field of industry. Patents require renewal and the patent holder "must renew it every year after the fifth year for up to 20 years protection."