Types of Intellectual Property: Trademarks vs. Copyrights vs. Patents
The key to understanding the differences between trademarks, copyrights, and patents is in what they protect.Trademarks protect brands.
Trademarks distinguish a company’s products from the competition and help customers find and rely on brands they know and trust.
Names, logos, colors, and even sounds can all be trademarks – if they are used to distinguish products.
Federal trademarks, the most common and most valuable type, are granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. They continue indefinitely so long as they are renewed.
Copyrights protect creative works.
Copyrights ensure that artists and creatives are rewarded for their artistry.
Novels, movies, poetry, photographs, songs, and even computer software can be protected by copyrights.
Copyright protects the form of expression (e.g., words) rather than the mode of expression (i.e., paper).
Copyrights are administered by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress.
Patents protect inventions.
Patents help encourage inventors to keep inventing.
Patentable works include “new” and “useful” machines, industrial processes, chemical compositions, and even some plants. There are two main types of patents:
(1) Utility patents for how something works (e.g., machines, articles of manufacture, or compositions of matter);
(2) Design patents for how something looks (ornamental features).
Patents are granted exclusively by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in exchange for public disclosure of the invention in the patent document.
How Do Trademarks, Copyrights, and Patents Work?
Consider these examples:Example: Imagine that you have invented a new kitchen gadget that everyone wants to buy. Using intellectual property law to protect your hard work, you would:
(1) Apply for a patent at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for your new “device”
(2) Apply for a Federal trademark to register and protect the brand name of the gadget
(3) Apply for a Federal copyright registration to protect the TV infomercial selling the gadget
Example: Consider your home computer.
The mechanisms inside are most likely protected by one or more patents. Anyone who makes any of the computer’s patented mechanisms during the term of a patent would be liable for patent infringement.
The computer’s instruction manual and software code are most likely protected by one or more copyrights. Anyone who makes a copy of either of these “works of authorship” during the term of the copyright would be liable for copyright infringement.
The name of the computer is most likely protected by a registered trademark. So long as the name continues to be used to identify a source, the user of any mark that is even likely to be confused with the name of the computer would be liable for trademark infringement.
Amazon Best-Selling Author • 20+ Years Experience • Member, Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court
2500+ Trademarks and Patents
For more than twenty years, Michael Kondoudis has been the go-to trademarking expert for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Michael is a USPTO-licensed trademark and patent attorney, educator, speaker, and author of the Amazon best-seller: Going From Business Owner to Brand Owner. He is also an authority trusted by national news media on major trademark stories.
Fun Facts: Michael is a member of the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court and an actual rocket scientist (B.S. Astronomy and Astrophysics, Indiana University 1994).
