Trademark vs. Copyright vs. Patent.

Whenever the subject of intellectual property comes up the confusion between the copyright and patent and trademark also gets stirred. Let’s take a closer look at all of them and try to clear the confusion.

What is Copyright?

A copyright is used to protect a creative work. This includes writing, music, video, art, and the like. Copyright exists as soon as you create the creative work and does not need to be applied for, although you can go through various processes to document your copyright. Copyright technically has a finite duration, but at this point, it may as well be infinite—whenever Disney's original works are about to lose copyright they lobby congress and the duration is extended. At this point, it's over a century in most cases.

What is Patent?

A patent is used to protect an invention. You must apply for a patent for it to be valid. Patents let you prevent others from making your invention. Note that one object may be covered by two patents and that those two patents may be held by different people. In this case, both people could prevent the other from building that object. Exclusive right to sell an invention, which is a creative idea reduced to physical practice.  Also found in genes, medicines, and software because there are ways to describe them that reduce to physical practice. Allows you to bar others from selling or using the same invention or demand fees.

What is Trademark?

A trademark is a defining symbol that customers associate with your product. Trademarks don't have a set duration, but you have to defend them. If the company that owns "Kleenex" allows all tissue manufacturers to casually refer to their products as "Kleenexes" then they lose their rights to the exclusive use of that name. Thus, they aggressively defend this name. Same with words like "Coke," "Frisbee," and "Slinky." You may formally register trademarks, but this is not a necessary step.

Trademarks let you prevent others from selling products with markings similar enough to yours that a typical customer would confuse their product for yours.