Patents, trademarks and copyrights are different aspects of the same central idea. These are various kinds of intellectual property that help in securing of property rights of persons or companies. However, there are many key differences between the three.
The primary difference is that the type of rights provided by patents is for a tangible or theoretical invention, while that provided by a copyright is for a creative document, or image envisaged 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 brand or company from others.
Secondly, patents have strict rules and responsibilities, which offer the maximum safety against any sort of infringement. This means that any violation of the patent, whether conscious or not, would lead to prosecution of the violator. Therefore, patents provide higher protection than copyrights and trademarks that allow certain exceptions like fair use etc.
A patent is generally valid for 20 years and then it moves from exclusive ownership of the patent owner, to the public domain availability of the idea. Whereas, as far as copyrights are concerned, they are generally given for 60-70 years, and trademarks do not cease to exist even for centuries if you want. Moreover, patents are more comprehensive and give broader protection than others. Patents safeguard not only the expression of ideas like copyrights do but they also protect the principles and techniques applied in a particular invention.
Lastly, since there are different levels of protection provided for by these three IPR types, the procedure for applying for them is also very different from each other. For instance, while a patent requires comprehensive description of the invention to be disclosed, a copyright application just needs a copy of the original work and trademark requires a complete search for already existing marks in use.
The primary difference is that the type of rights provided by patents is for a tangible or theoretical invention, while that provided by a copyright is for a creative document, or image envisaged 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 brand or company from others.
Secondly, patents have strict rules and responsibilities, which offer the maximum safety against any sort of infringement. This means that any violation of the patent, whether conscious or not, would lead to prosecution of the violator. Therefore, patents provide higher protection than copyrights and trademarks that allow certain exceptions like fair use etc.
A patent is generally valid for 20 years and then it moves from exclusive ownership of the patent owner, to the public domain availability of the idea. Whereas, as far as copyrights are concerned, they are generally given for 60-70 years, and trademarks do not cease to exist even for centuries if you want. Moreover, patents are more comprehensive and give broader protection than others. Patents safeguard not only the expression of ideas like copyrights do but they also protect the principles and techniques applied in a particular invention.
Lastly, since there are different levels of protection provided for by these three IPR types, the procedure for applying for them is also very different from each other. For instance, while a patent requires comprehensive description of the invention to be disclosed, a copyright application just needs a copy of the original work and trademark requires a complete search for already existing marks in use.
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