by Shannon Monk KMKNO

As part of our discussion on Mi’kmaw cultural tourism, we want to share educational resources that may help with your cultural tourism business. For the next couple of months, we will be doing a series of informative articles on intellectual property (IP) and how it can help protect and grow your business. This month we will be introducing IP and associated rights. Over the following months, we will go more in-depth about why it matters to the cultural tourism industry and the work being done around the world bridging IP and Indigenous Traditional Knowledge.

Intellectual Property is the result of what is created with the mind. It can include literary and artistic works, inventions, symbols, designs and more. These rights protect products of creative activity and can help business owners establish stronger businesses. Essentially, IP rights give you a say over how and/or when others can use or copy something you have created. IP rights protect innovation and creativity through things like copyright, patents, trademarks, geographical indicators, industrial design, and trade secrets.

Copyright is a type of intellectual property right that protects the expression of ideas for creative works such as books, films, plays, music and sound recordings, artistic works, etc. Copyright gives you, as the owner, the right to copy, distribute, and display the work.

Another type of intellectual property right is a patent. Patents protect new inventions and were the f ...

 

Tags: Indigenous Traditional Knowledge, KMKNO, Mi’kmaw cultural tourism, Shannon Monk