Patents, trademarks and copyrights are different aspects of the same central idea. These are different types of intellectual property that help in securing of property rights of persons or firms. However, there are several key points of differences among the three.
The main difference is that the nature of rights provided by patents is for a physical or conceptual invention, while that provided by a copyright is for an original document, or image created by the author. For trademarks, there is no need for something original or innovative and they can simply be a word or even a symbol that separates a brand or company from others.
Secondly, patents have strict rules and responsibilities, which provide the maximum safety against any sort of violation. This implies that any infringement of the patent, whether conscious or not, would lead to prosecution of the violator. Thus patents offer greater protection against infringement, whereas copyright and trademarks provide for reasonable use and other exceptions.
The usual span for the validity of a patent is 20 years, which is followed by termination of the exclusive ownership rights of the owner. Whereas, as far as copyrights are concerned, they are generally given for 60-70 years, and trademarks can continue for centuries. Further, patents can safeguard your intellectual property interests in a very comprehensive manner. This is to say that while copyrights safeguard only the expression of ideas, patents cover the processes as well as the fundamental principles behind an invention.
Finally, the procedures for submitting an application for these three legal mechanisms are also very different from each other. For example, the application for a patent needs detailed explanation of the invention, which is not required in case of copyrights or trademarks. However, a copyright usually requires a copy of the original creation, while a trademark needs a thorough search for similar marks in existence in the market.
Discover more about trademark and discover how does a patent lawyer and IP protection increase the net worth of your business very fast.
categories: protecting business ideas,business value,Intellectual property,IP law,IP lawyer,trademarks,copyright,patents,law,IP,ideas protection
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
