Imagine Creative Communications Inc. is committed to respecting the principles of intellectual property in all forms. As such it will take every reasonable measure to ensure that not only is its own intellectual property rights are protected, but the rights of all other entities and persons are respected and upheld.
This policy is intended to cover all forms of intellectual property, including trademarks, patents, copyrights and industrial designs (referred to as “protected assets”).
All references in this policy to Imagine Creative Communications Inc. are meant to include all officers, employees, agents and subcontractors of Imagine Creative Communications Inc. when operating on its behalf.
To this end, Imagine Creative Communications Inc. will:
- Clearly assert its own intellectual property rights by displaying appropriate copyright, patent, industrial design and trademark notices for its own protected assets and pursue and defend its rights under Canadian and international law.
- Respect the intellectual property rights of its clients by:
- Advising clients of their rights and responsibilities with respect to intellectual property as it applies to work being performed for them. We recognize that such advice is not informed legal opinion and will advise clients to seek professional legal advice in all cases.
- Obtaining written permission to use their protected assets in any work being conducted on their behalf. Written permission can include instruction by letter or e-mail by the client or an authorized officer of the client to use or include a protected asset in the production/execution of a product or service. (e.g. brochure, web site, advertisement, news release, packaging, mailing, etc.)
- Obtaining written permission to use their protected asset(s) in any work intended to promote Imagine Creative Communications Inc.
- Displaying appropriate copyright, patent and trademark notices in or on the product/service executed on behalf of the client.
- Respect the intellectual property rights of third party entities by:
- Obtaining written permission to use a protected asset when used for the promotion of Imagine Creative Communications Inc. In some cases, an organization may post on their web site or in other public documents instructions or guidelines for appropriate use of their asset by third parties. Provided that these instructions or guidelines are adhered to, Imagine Creative Communications Inc. will accept these instructions or guidelines as written permission.
- Ensuring clients have obtained written permission to use a third party protected asset when used in the execution of a client project. Written permission can include instruction by letter or e-mail by an authorized officer of the third party to use or include a protected asset in the a product or service executed by Imagine Creative Communications Inc. In some cases, an organization may post on their web site or in other public documents instructions or guidelines for appropriate use of their asset by third parties. Provided these instructions or guidelines are adhered to, Imagine Creative Communications Inc. will accept these instructions or guidelines as sufficient written permission.
- Displaying appropriate copyright, patent and trademark notices for all third party protected assets
- Create new, original designs, including logos, brands, photographs or marketing collateral without the intent to copy or imitate existing protected third party assets, whether created for itself or its clients. Where designs are copied for the purpose of creating a parody, such parody will be clearly noted.
- Take reasonable steps to research its designs by comparing them with readily available sources to ensure there has been no infringement of protected assets. Such reasonable steps may include one or more of:
- consultation with disinterested third parties for a opinion on whether they perceive the design(s) to infringe on protected third party assets
- a cursory search of the Canadian trade marks database available through the Canadian Intellectual Property Office web site
- a cursory review of web sites and marketing collateral of competitor companies or organizations for possible infringement.
Whether this review is conducted or not, the client must agree to save and hold harmless Imagine Creative Communications Inc. from the consequences of any infringement of intellectual property that may result from the new work created for them.
- Advise clients in writing that, while reasonable steps are taken to ensure that original designs executed by Imagine Creative Communications Inc. do not infringe on third party protected assets, Imagine Creative Communications Inc. cannot be held responsible for any possible infringement, that final responsibility for possible infringements rest with the client. To that end, clients are invited to seek professional legal advice concerning all matters of intellectual property protection and infringement.
- Respond promptly and in good faith to all notices of infringement or potential infringement of trademarks or other protected assets.
- Avoid plagiarism when writing text for its own purposes or its clients. Where text or other copyrighted material has been used from another source, it must be clearly indicated as derivative and attributed to the original source as appropriate.
- Respect copyright and licensing agreements with regard to all creative works, including (but not limited to) software, fonts, photographs and illustrations. Imagine Creative Communications Inc. will use only creative works for which it has a valid licensing agreement, and will only use them in ways that comply with the terms of the agreement. That includes unauthorized distribution, copying, sharing, sale or re-sale.
- Incorporate a protected asset into a logo or other design or create a derivative work from a protected asset only with the explicit instruction and written permission of the owner of the protected asset, or an authorized agent of the owner of the protected asset. Such a derivative work would be created for the exclusive use of the owner of the original protected asset.
If you have any questions about this policy statement, please contact us.