Trademarks are signals that identify and protect brands, while copyrights protect creative works from copying.
By Michael Kondoudis, Small Business Trademark Attorney
This is our new EASY guide to trademarks, copyrights, and the differences between them. So if you want to understand how to use trademarks and copyrights to protect your hard work, then this guide is for you.
Let’s get started!
Contents
PART I. TRADEMARKS
What Is a Trademark?
A trademark is a distinctive word, phrase, symbol, or other “signal” that represents your brand identity. They tell customers which products or services come from your business. A trademark distinguishes your products (or services) from the competition and helps stop imitations. Its main purpose is to provide protection for your brand, helping consumers recognize its origin effortlessly.
When you protect a trademark, you protect the brand that goes with it.
What Can Be a Trademark?
The most popular types of trademarks are names, logos, and slogans because they represent brands so well. However, almost anything that identifies and distinguishes a business’s products or services can be trademarked, including designs, sounds, characters, colors, and color schemes, so long as they are used to identify your brand.
Worried About Your Trademark?
How Do You Protect a Trademark?
The best way to protect a trademark is to register it with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Federal trademark registration comes with the nationwide right to use your mark and prevents competitors from registering it for their brand. Trademark registrations are granted by the USPTO.
Pro Tip: After applying to the USPTO, you should consider using the trademark symbol “TM” with your mark. It is not a requirement but is a good practice because it shows that you own the creative work and deters others from using it without permission.
PART II. COPYRIGHTS
What Is a Copyright?
A copyright protects authors and creatives from the unauthorized copying of their creative and artistic works. Copyrights protect creative works like songs, books, photographs, movies, and performances. A copyright gives you the exclusive right to use a work in a variety of ways: including:
- Reproducing the work
- Preparing derivative works based on the work
- Performing the work publicly
- Displaying the work publicly
Copyrights ensure that artists and creatives are rewarded for their artistry.
What Can Be Copyrighted?
Almost any artistic or creative work can be copyrighted. They protect against unauthorized copying of creative works. Examples of artistic and creative works that can be copyrighted include:
- Books, novels, and stories
- Poems
- Photographs and paintings
- Movies and videos
- Song lyrics and sheet music
- Sound recordings
How Do You Protect a Copyright?
The best way to protect a copyright is to register it with the U.S. Copyright Office, which is part of the Library of Congress. Registration is optional but highly recommended because it comes with more legal protections. Copyright registrations are granted by the U.S. Copyright Office.
Pro Tip: After applying to the Copyright Office, you should consider adding a copyright notice to your work. It is not a requirement but is a good practice because it shows that you own the creative work and deters others from using it without permission.
PART III. TRADEMARK vs. COPYRIGHT
Now that we know a bit about trademarks and copyrights, let’s look at the key differences between them.
Trademark vs Copyright: The Top Seven Differences
1. Purpose: Trademarks are associated with brands and protect distinctive signs connected to goods or services (e.g., Nike’s Swoosh logo), while copyrights protect original creative works of authorship (e.g., books, music, films).
2. Scope of Protection: Trademarks shield against confusing similarities (not just identical marks), safeguarding customers from counterfeit products or services. In contrast, copyrights protect against unauthorized copying of their creative works.
3. Type of Protection: Copyrights give the owners the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, and display their works, while trademarks only give their owners exclusive rights to use the marks mark in connection with their products or services.
4. Duration: Copyrights expire 70 years after an author’s death, by statute. Unlike copyrights, trademarks can potentially last indefinitely, provided you continue to use and renew them. So, while copyrights definitely expire, trademarks do not.
5. Symbols: Trademarks are designated by the symbol “TM” or, in the case of registered trademarks, “®”. Copyrights are designated by the symbol “©”.
6. Use: Trademarks must be used in commerce, copyrighted works do not need to be used in commerce
7. Registration: Trademarks are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). You can obtain federal trademark registration through the USPTO. Copyrights are registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, which is a part of the Library of Congress. You can obtain federal copyright registration through the U.S. Copyright Office of the Library of Congress.
Remember: The main difference between trademarks and copyrights is that trademarks protect distinctive signs associated with goods or services (ex: Nike’s Swoosh logo), while copyrights protect original works of authorship (ex: books, music, films).
PART IV. TRADEMARKS vs. COPYRIGHTS vs. PATENTS
Patents, copyrights, and trademarks are different types of intellectual property. Each one offers different protections for different types of intangible properties (i.e., brands, creative works, and inventions). The distinctions among the three can be subtle, and often the same product or service may involve more than one of these intellectual property or “IP” rights.
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.
Do you need help with your trademark?
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.
PART V. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. Do you trademark or copyright a logo?
You trademark a logo. Logos are trademarked. You protect a logo by trademarking it. With a logo trademark, you can prevent competitors from using your logo in connection with their products or services. Logos are not copyrighted.
If you have a logo, and you want to protect it, then you need a trademark. Famous examples of trademarked logos are the McDonald’s “Golden Arches” and the Nike “Swoosh.”
When a logo is trademarked, competitors will not be permitted to offer products or services under the same logo or anything similar.
Logo = trademark
2. Do you trademark or copyright a name?
You trademark a name. Names are trademarked. You protect a brand name by trademarking it. With a name trademark, you can prevent competitors from using your name in connection with their products or services. Names are not copyrighted.
If you have a product and want to protect the name, you would need a trademark. Famous examples of name trademarks include IPHONE® and BIG MAC®.
When a name is trademarked, competitors will not be permitted to offer products or services under the same name or anything similar.
Name = trademark
3. Do you trademark or copyright a business name?
You trademark a business name. Business names are trademarked. You protect the name of a business by trademarking it. With a name trademark, you can prevent competitors from using your business name in connection with their products or services. Business names are not copyrighted.
If you have a business and want to protect its name, you would need a trademark. Famous examples of trademarks for business names include GOOGLE®, APPLE®, and COKE®.
When a business name is trademarked, competitors will not be permitted to offer products or services under the same name or anything similar.
Business name = trademark
4. Do you trademark or copyright a phrase?
You trademark a phrase. Phrases are trademarked. You protect a phrase by trademarking it. With a trademark, you can prevent competitors from using your phrase in connection with their products or services. Phrases are not copyrighted.
If you have a service and want to protect a phrase that you use to brand it, you would need a trademark. Famous examples of trademarks for phrases include DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT® and WHAT’S IN YOUR WALLET?®.
When a phrase is trademarked, competitors will not be permitted to offer products or services under the same phrase or anything similar.
Phrase = trademark
5. Do you trademark or copyright a slogan?
You trademark a slogan. Slogans are trademarked. You protect the slogan of a business by trademarking it. With a trademark, you can prevent competitors from using your slogan in connection with their products or services. Slogans are not copyrighted.
Well-known examples of slogans for businesses include and Apple’s THINK DIFFERENT® and McDonald’s I’M LOVIN’ IT®.
When a slogan is trademarked, competitors will not be permitted to offer products or services under the same slogan or anything similar.
Slogan = trademark
6. What Goes Into a Copyright Notice?
A copyright notice includes the following three items:
- The copyright symbol © or the word “copyright”
- The name of the copyright owner
- The year of publication
7. Do you trademark or copyright a stage name?
You trademark a stage name. Stage names are trademarked. You protect a stage name by trademarking it. With a stage name trademark, you can prevent competitors from using your stage. Stage names are not copyrighted.
If you have a stage name that you want to protect, you would need a trademark. Famous examples of trademarks for stage names include LADY GAGA, DRAKE, SPIKE LEE.
Stage name = trademark
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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).
