Would you like to make a fortune with a brilliant new concept? Then, creating a patent, trademark, or copyright is a critical step any inventor or artist should take before bringing their creation to market.
It is essential to know the differences between these three designations, but they protect a specific type of intellectual property against copycats trying to profit from your idea. Inventing an app, idea inventing an app, invention idea, idea for invention, and inventing an idea will require a patent, trademark, or copyright.
Copyright
The United States' laws provide for copyright protection. If a work of authorship is published or unpublished, it is protected by the Copyright. In addition to paintings and literary works, live performances, photographs, movies, and software can be protected under copyright laws.
The dictionary defines Copyright as "the exclusive right of an individual to reproduce, publish, or sell an original work (whether literary, musical, dramatic, artistic, or architectural)."
The Copyright Act only covers " forms of material expression," unlike the actual concepts, ideas, techniques, or facts in work, and the Copyright Act only covers "forms of material expression." For this reason, copyrights only protect jobs that are fixed in a tangible form. But, of course, some works have been fixed into real forms like original paintings on canvas and stories written on paper.
As technology advances, it becomes more difficult to determine who owns what. As a result, copyright is a timely topic. The leading authority writes this thoroughly updated edition of the industry-standard on copyright matters affecting schools on Copyright for libraries.
This book introduces copyright law and then covers specific issues related to various mediums, such as print, software, music, video, multimedia, etc. Taking the approach that preventing legal action is always easier than defending it, the information provided in this section is designed to enable schools to protect their rights under copyright law while avoiding anything that makes them vulnerable to copyright claims.
Patent
A sovereign agency grants an invention the exclusive right to use the invention. The product or process could solve the problem by offering a novel way of doing something. The patent application must also disclose technical details or the process behind the invention to qualify for a patent.
Each patent owner has discretion over who may or may not use the information or product. By exchanging money or giving licenses to others, he/she could also sell the rights to someone else.
Most patents expire after 20 years from the date of their invention. The patent owner does not have the right to stop anyone from using the invention. When the patent expires, the invention becomes public domain and the owner's rights are no longer protected. The patent is also a territorial right. The patent cannot be exploited where the application was submitted.
In contrast, a design patent pertains to how an item looks. As an example, consider an automobile with an unusual-shaped hood or headlights. It is essential to protect these visual elements with patents so that competitors will not be able to copy them without penalties. There are a few steps to get a patent. There are various patent services and patent company where you can patent ideas for free.
Trademark
Under Section 2(zb) of the Indian Trademarks Act, 1999, a "Trademark" [TM] is defined as "a mark that is graphically recognizable and which distinguishes one good or service from another; such a mark may include the shape of the goods, their packaging, or colors."
Marks may include devices, labels, tickets, names, signatures, words, letters, numbers, packaging designs or combinations of colors. An essential qualification for trademarks is their ability to set one company apart from another.
The types of trademarks are diverse; collective marks, service marks, certification marks, etc.
Copyright, Patent, and Trademark: What’s the Difference?
Trademarks, trademarks, and copyrights protect brands, logos, and slogans, while patents protect new inventions, processes, or scientific creations.