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Copyright and trademark are both legal protections for creative works. However, they differ in a number of ways, including how each is used, the scope of protection, and duration. In this article we’ll explore the differences between these two types of intellectual property law:
Both copyright and trademark are types of intellectual property. This means that they are protected by law from being used or claimed by someone who hasn’t been given explicit permission to do so. Copyright and trademark can be registered with the government, but they both cannot be used until they are registered first.
Copyright covers any original works of authorship, including literary works, musical works, dramatic works; pantomimes and choreography, pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; motion pictures and other audiovisual works; sound recordings (both published and unpublished); architectural designs (both published and unpublished); and computer software programs.
Trademark is a legal term referring to a word/phrase or symbol identifying one’s products or services as originating from a specific source. The purpose of having trademarks is to prevent consumer confusion regarding origin of goods/services offered by different companies in their respective industries—a problem which could lead to lost profits for all parties involved if left unsolved!
Copyright protects creative works, while a trademark protects products and services. Copyright is a form of intellectual property (IP), while trademarks are also forms of IP.
Copyright protects the expression of an idea rather than the idea itself—for example, it would protect the words you have written but not your novel as a whole. A trademark is used to identify different brands or companies and their associated products or services to consumers who will buy them again in future; these include logos and colors that distinguish one brand from another as well as slogans such as “Just Do It” for Nike or “Think Different” for Apple Inc..
A registered copyright applies to the entirety of a work, whereas a trademark only applies to specific uses.
A copyright protects an original work of authorship including literary works such as novels, poems and plays; musical works such as songs and symphonies; dramatic works such as skits and plays; films (including documentaries); paintings, drawings, sculptures and photographs; architectural designs or models; maps and globes.
Trademark protection is limited to specific uses because it’s intended to protect consumers from being misled into buying inferior products or services that bear a trade name they’ve come to associate with quality goods or services. The laws governing trademarks are different from those governing copyrights in many important ways:
Copyright protects works of authorship, while trademark protects brands. Copyright protects a specific expression, while trademark protection applies even to generic terms that are not identical to other marks in the same market.
Trademark law provides for two types of infringement: “likelihood of confusion” and “false association.” Likelihood of confusion occurs when consumers are likely to be misled as to the source of goods or services based on similar names, logos or slogans used by different parties. False association occurs when one party uses another party’s trademarks as an adjective or verb (for example: “Go buy my iPhone”).
In contrast with copyright law under which substantial similarity is required before an infringing use will be found (i.e., two works must be substantially similar), trademark infringement is determined by comparing the marks themselves rather than their uses by competitors.
Copyrights last for a specific time duration, but trademarks can last indefinitely provided they are in use.
People may confuse copyright with Trademark but there are some major differences between the two with regard to protection, use, infringement, and duration.
We hope this article has helped you understand the difference between copyrights and trademarks in a way that is both clear and easy to apply in your daily life.
Register Your Trademark & Get The Delivery of your USPTO Serial No. In 24 Hours
Register Your Trademark with USPTO Today & Get Serial No. in 24 Hours