Therefore, although there are ever more patents being claimed for hardware, software, and business methods used on the internet, they still represent only a tiny fraction of all the IP found there. An industrial design or design patent is not something you will encounter very often, and is more like a copyright work than a patent. An industrial design, as the name implies, is a unique visual aspect applied to a commercial product. A distinctive china pattern is a traditional example of what can be protected by industrial design. In the internet world, the visual form of a computer icon can be protected as an industrial design.
Protection exists only with registration.
Databases are an important exception to the list of what is protected by IP laws in Canada and the United States. Because a typical database is a collection of facts, no matter how much work is involved in its assembly, it is not protectable by copyright. Such a collection lacks the minimum amount of creativity required to qualify as a copyright work. It is also not a device or process that could be patentable. The only way to protect a database from unauthorized use is to restrict access to it, and this is not always possible.