All three – copyrights, trademarks and patents – arise from the same fundamental legal requirement. These are types of intellectual property that secure the rights of inventors and creators. However, there are several points of differences among the three.
The first and foremost difference is that the patents protect rights over a concrete or conceptual invention, while the copyrights secure documents or images brought into existence by the author. In case of trademarks, there is no requirement for something original or innovative and they can simply be a word or even a symbol that separates a product or company from others.
Secondly, patents have strict rules and responsibilities, which offer the maximum protection against any sort of infringement. In other words, irrespective of the fact that the offender did or did not know that he was infringing the patent, he will be held responsible for the same. Therefore, patents provide higher safety than copyrights and trademarks that permit certain exceptions like fair use etc.
The usual period for the validity of a patent is 20 years, which is followed by termination of the exclusive ownership rights of the owner. On the other hand, trademarks can continue for an infinite time period while copyrights are usually valid for 60-70 years from the date the work was created. Further, patents can safeguard your intellectual property interests in a very stringent manner. This is to say that while copyrights safeguard only the expression of ideas, patents cover the processes as well as the basic principles behind an invention.
Finally, since there are different levels of protection provided for by these three IPR types, the process for submitting an application for them is also quite different from each other. For example, the application for a patent requires detailed explanation of the invention, which is not required in case of copyrights or trademarks. However, a copyright application demands a copy of the original work, while a trademark requires a prior check for similar marks in existence in the market.
Discover more about Trademark Registration Singapore and discover how does an Intellectual Property protection increase the net worth of your business very fast.
categories: IP lawyer,trademarks,copyright,patents,law,IP,ideas protection,business idea protection,protecting business ideas,business value,Intellectual property
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