Difference between Copyright, Trademark, and Patent

Introduction

Copyrights, trademarks and patents are three different types of intellectual property. Each one has a different purpose, and they can help you protect your ideas and creations from being used by others without permission.

Copyright

Copyright is the right to copy. It protects original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works. It also protects computer programs and other types of written expression, such as software code and photographs. So if you write a song or take a photograph or make up a dance routine that no one else has ever thought of before (or tried to copy) then you can protect your work from being copied by registering for copyright protection.

It’s important to note that copyright does not protect ideas – only the specific way in which those ideas are expressed. For example: You can’t copyright “The Cat in the Hat,” but Dr. Seuss could register his particular version of it as an original work with unique features like rhyming verse and memorable characters.

You can’t copyright “The Wizard of Oz,” but L Frank Baum could register his particular version as an original work with unique features like the characters, plot and setting. The same principle applies to any other kind of creative work: You can’t copyright your idea for a song or movie — you need to register the specific version that you created.

Trademark

Trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols, or designs that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others.

Trademarks can be used in two ways: as a trademark or service mark. A trademark (including service mark) consists of any word(s), name(s), symbol(s), device(s) and/or any combination thereof used by an individual/business to distinguish itself from other competitors’ offerings. This allows consumers to associate certain products with specific producers (brand loyalty). Trademarks must be registered with the relevant government agency before they can be enforced against others. In contrast to patents and copyrights which are automatically granted by law once created; trademarks do not exist until they have been formally granted through registration or use in commerce”

Patent

A patent is a grant by the federal government to an inventor that gives the inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, selling or offering for sale his or her invention for a period of time. The term of a utility patent is 20 years from its filing date (or 17 years if you file under the Accelerated Examination program). Only one person may be granted a U.S. patent per invention and only in his or her own country.

The rights that a patent owner has in the patented invention are:

• The right to exclude others from making, using or selling the patented invention throughout what is called “the scope” of the claims;
• The right to exclude others from importing into the United States an article made by means of any process covered by those same claims; and
• If anyone does infringe one or more claims within a patent (by making, using selling or offering for sale) without permission, then you can sue them for damages without having to prove actual loss (i.e., because you are protected against infringement).

The right to copy is only one of the rights granted to copyright owners. Another important one is the right to make copies or adapt a work for use in another medium (e.g., from a book into a movie). This means that if someone else wants to make money off of your work by copying it, you have every right to stop them.

Takeaway:

In short, copyright protects original works of authorship, such as writings and music. Trademark protects words, phrases, symbols and designs used by businesses to distinguish their products from those of other companies and individuals. Patent protects inventions that are novel, useful and non-obvious at the time it is filed for protection.

It’s important to understand that each of these forms of intellectual property has its own distinct purpose and function in protecting your ideas or creations from unauthorized use by others!

In many countries, the patent owner may also be entitled to compensation if his or her patent is infringed. The right to exclude others from making, using or selling the patented invention throughout what is called “the scope” of the claims; The right to exclude others from importing into the United States an article made by means of any process covered by those same claims; and If anyone does infringe one or more claims within a patent (by making, using selling or offering for sale) without permission, then you can sue them for damages without having to prove actual loss (i.e., because you are protected against infringement)If you want to protect your work from theft, there are many ways to do it. The most effective way is by registering a copyright or patent with the U.S. Copyright Office or Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). For more information on how to protect your intellectual property, visit uspto.gov/register-intellectual-property-rights or call 800-786-9199. Trademarks can be protected from third-party infringement by registering them with the relevant government agency. In many jurisdictions, trademark rights can be established through use of the mark without registration, but filing an application for registration with a local trademark office provides numerous benefits to the registrant…

Conclusion

In this article we have mentioned some of the major differences between Trademark, copyright, and Patent to help you easily differentiate between the terms.