What is an assignment?

An assignment occurs when you sell all or part of your rights to the design to another party. This party (or "assignee") assumes your ownership rights to make, import for trade or business, rent or sell, products to which the registered design is applied, and to authorize others to do so as well. You may wish to ask a legal professional specializing in intellectual property for help when preparing assignment documents.

Although it is not mandatory, it is a good idea for the new owner to ensure that the assignment is recorded with the Industrial Design Office. This is done by sending a copy of the assignment document along with the fee. Details about fees are available in the Tariff of Fees on the CIPO website at http://www.cipo.ic.gc.ca/id. Assignments may be recorded against pending or registered designs.

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