PATENT

The term patent usually refers to a right granted to anyone who invents or discovers any
new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any
new and useful improvement thereof. The additional qualification utility patent is used in
the United States to distinguish it from other types of patents (e.g. design patents) but
should not be confused with utility models granted by other countries. Examples of
particular species of patents for inventions include biological patents, patents, business
method patents, chemical patents and software patents.

Some other types of intellectual property rights are referred to as patents in some
jurisdictions: industrial design rights are called design patents in some jurisdictions (they
protect the visual design of objects that are not purely utilitarian), plant breeders’ rights
are sometimes called plant patents, and utility models or Gebrauchsmuter are sometimes
called petty patents or innovation patents. This article relates primarily to the patent for
an invention, although so-called petty patents and utility models may also be granted for
inventions.

Certain grants made by the monarch in pursuance of the royal prerogative were
sometimes called letters patent, which was a government notice to the public of a grant of
an exclusive right to ownership and possession. These were often grants of a patent-like
monopoly and predate the modern origins of the patent system. For other uses of the term
patent see Land patents, which were land grants by early state governments in the USA.
This reflects the original meaning of letters patent that had a broader scope than current
usage.

There are three types of patents:

1) Utility patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process,
machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof;

2) Design patents may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for
an article of manufacture; and

3) Plant patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any
distinct and new variety of plant.
What is a Copyright?

Fundamentally, copyright is a law that gives you ownership over the things you create.
Be it a painting, a photograph, a poem or a novel, if you created it, you own it and it’s the
copyright law itself that assures that ownership. The ownership that copyright law grants
comes with several rights that you, as the owner, have exclusively. Those rights include:

• The right to reproduce the work

• to prepare derivative works
• to distribute copies
• to perform the work
• and to display the work publicly

These are your rights and your rights alone. Unless you willingly give them up (EX: A
Creative Commons License), no one can violate them legally. This means that, unless
you say otherwise, no one can perform a piece written by you or make copies of it, even
with attribution, unless you give the OK.

Inversely, if you’re looking for material to use or reuse, you should not do any of these
things without either asking permission or confirming that the work is in the public
domain, which means that the copyright has expired and all of the above rights have been
forfeited. Simply put, if the work isn’t in the public domain and you don’t have
permission to use a piece, you put yourself in risk of legal action, regardless of your
intentions.

Because, beyond fair use and parody (issues for later essays), the holder of a copyrighted
piece has near carte blanche to do what they want with their work. It’s no different than
owning a car, a house or a pen. One can lend it out to a friend, sell it, modify it or even
destroy it. In short, if you own the copyright to something, you have the same rights that
you do with anything else and, in some instances, even more. After all, you did create it.
It only makes sense that you would own the fruits of your labor. That’s what copyright
law is all about.

Moral Rights

Though moral rights are not currently recognized in the United States, they’re a major
element of European copyright law and are becoming increasingly important as the Web
becomes more globalized.

Moral rights are a set of rights that are separate from the author’s copyright on a piece.
These rights are generally considered inalienable, which means that they can not be given
away or sold, and thus persist even if the copyright to a work is completely sold.

As defined by the Berne Convention, the moral rights of an author are as follows:
 • The right to claim authorship of the work
• The right to object to any distortion, mutilation or modification of the work
• The right to object to any derogatory action that may damage the authors honor or
reputation

It is easy to see how moral rights can be useful in fighting plagiarism since such an act is
not only a violation of the author’s copyright, if he or she holds it, but also the moral
rights. It may also be useful in cases where the copyright of a work has been lost, either
sold or given away, but plagiarism continues.
TRADEMARK

A trademark or trade mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual,

business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to
consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to
distinguish its products or services from those of other entities.

A trademark is designated by the following symbols:

• (for an unregistered trademark, that is, a mark used to promote or brand goods);
• (for an unregistered service mark, that is, a mark used to promote or brand
services); and
• (for a registered trademark).

A trademark is a type of intellectual property, and typically a name, word, phrase, logo,
symbol, design, image, or a combination of these elements. There is also a range of non-
convential trademarks comprising marks which do not fall into these standard categories.

The owner of a registered trademark may commence legal proceedings for trademark
infringement to prevent unauthorized use of that trademark. However, registration is not
required. The owner of a common law trademark may also file suit, but an unregistered
mark may be protectable only within the geographical area within which it has been used
or in geographical areas into which it may be reasonably expected to expand.

The term trademark is also used informally to refer to any distinguishing attribute by
which an individual is readily identified, such as the well known characteristics of
celebrities. When a trademark is used in relation to services rather than products, it may
sometimes be called a service mark, particularly in the United States.
What Is a Patent?

A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the
Patent and Trademark Office. The term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on
which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in special cases,
from the date an earlier related application was filed, subject to the payment of
maintenance fees. US patent grants are effective only within the US, US territories, and
US possessions.

The right conferred by the patent grant is, in the language of the statute and of the grant
itself, “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” the
invention in the United States or “importing” the invention into the United States. What
is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to
exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention.

What Is a Trademark or Servicemark?

A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device which is used in trade with goods to
indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. A
servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the
source of a service rather than a product. The terms "trademark" and "mark" are
commonly used to refer to both trademarks and servicemarks.

Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark,
but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or
services under a clearly different mark. Trademarks which are used in interstate or
foreign commerce may be registered with the Patent and Trademark Office. The
registration procedure for trademarks and general information concerning trademarks is
described in a separate pamphlet entitled "Basic Facts about Trademarks".

What Is a Copyright?

Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of “original works of

authorship” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual
works, both published and unpublished. The 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the
owner of copyright the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare
derivative works, to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work, to
perform the copyrighted work publicly, or to display the copyrighted work publicly.

The copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the
writing. For example, a description of a machine could be copyrighted, but this would
only prevent others from copying the description; it would not prevent others from
writing a description of their own or from making and using the machine. Copyrights are
registered by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress.
What Is the Difference Between a Copyright and
a Trademark?
COPYRIGHTS
A copyright protects the way
you express certain ideas;
your creative content, so to
speak.
A copyright would protect your
actual content.
With a copyright, you’re
basically protected from the
moment you create your
copyright-protected work.
Formal registration guarantees
you legal rights in court, but is
not required to establish
copyright protection; you get
that protection from the
moment you create the
content.
They are governed by different
offices and even different
sections of law.
Copyrights preclude short
phrases, names or symbols.
You may not be able to
copyright something that you
can trademark.
TRADEMARKS PATENTS
A trademark protects a A patent for an invention grants
specific name, slogan or logo a property right to the inventor
associated with products or that will prevent anyone else
services that you’re selling. from making, using, or selling an
invention.
Since a patent is considered
A trademark is a marketing "property," it may be bought,
tool. sold, mortgaged, or licensed by
the owner.
A trademark is a formal A patent lasts for a limited
recognition of a mark that you amount of time, usually 20 years
intend to use or already use to from the date the application
promote a product or service. was filed, and is only effective in
You don’t have trademark the country in which it was filed.
protection until you register
your trademark, so registering
a trademark is much more
important than registering a
copyright for the purpose of
obtaining protection.
They are governed by different They are governed by different
offices and even different offices and even different
sections of law. sections of law.
Trademarks deal almost
exclusively with this content.
trademark law is quite specific,
and you can’t trademark a
phrase, for example, just
because it’s witty and clever;
you can get trademark
protection for such a phrase
only if it’s used to identify your
products or services.
 What is the difference between a copyright and a trademark? Copyrights and
trademarks both offer formal legal protections for intellectual properties, but they don’t protect the
same things.

Copyrights and trademarks protect different types of creations.

A copyright protects the way you express certain ideas; your creative content, so to speak. A
trademark protects a specific name, slogan or logo associated with products or services that
you’re selling. A trademark is a marketing tool, essentially, while a copyright would protect your
actual content.

Trademark and copyright registration work differently.

With a copyright, you’re basically protected from the moment you create your copyright-protected
work. Formal registration guarantees you legal rights in court, but is not required to establish
copyright protection; you get that protection from the moment you create the content.

A trademark is a formal recognition of a mark that you intend to use or already use to promote a
product or service. You don’t have trademark protection until you register your trademark, so
registering a trademark is much more important than registering a copyright for the purpose of
obtaining protection.

Different offices govern copyrights and trademarks.

Trademarks fall under the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO. Copyrights fall
under the United States Copyright Office. Because copyrights and trademarks are entirely
different things, they’re governed by different offices and even different sections of law. However,
both copyrights and trademarks fall under the category of intellectual property, and an intellectual
property lawyer may be able to advise you about both copyright and trademark law and
registration.

Copyrights and trademarks work similarly in some ways.

Copyrights protect the expression you use to convey an idea; not the idea or content itself. A
copyright protects the specific manner in which you write or express an idea, but someone else
can express the same thought or idea in a different way and not be in violation of copyright.

A trademark functions similarly in that it protects your specific name, slogan or logo associated
with goods or services. Someone else can use different trademarked names, slogans or logos to
market similar goods or services. These protections cover only the exact specifics in your
scenarios; they don’t prevent other people from marketing similar goods or conveying the same
idea in a different manner.
You may be able to trademark something you can’t copyright.
Copyrights preclude short phrases, names or symbols, whereas trademarks deal almost
exclusively with this content. You may not be able to copyright something that you can trademark.
If you’re using names, phrases or symbols for marketing purposes, or to identify your goods and
services and differentiate them from someone else’s goods and services, you may be eligible for
trademark protection.

However, trademark law is quite specific, and you can’t trademark a phrase, for example, just
because it’s witty and clever; you can get trademark protection for such a phrase only if it’s used
to identify your products or services.
A copyright protects original works that fall under the categories of literature, dramatic, musical,
artistic, and intellectual. These works may be published or unpublished, and the Copyright Act of 1976
gives the owner exclusive rights to reproduce their work in any medium. A copyright protects a form of
expression, but not the subject matter of the work. For example, if someone wrote an article about a
new car on the market, the text would be copyrighted, preventing someone else from using that
particular material. However, a copyright does not prevent others from writing their own original article
about this new car, or from using or making the car themselves.

A trademark is used to protect a word, symbol, device or name that is used for the purpose of trading
goods. The trademark indicates the source of goods and distinguishes them from the goods of others.
A trademark may also be used to prevent others from using a mark that might be confused with
another; trademarks, however, do not prevent other people or businesses from producing the same
product or services under a different mark.

Trademarks can be registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The
filing fee is more substantial than it is for a copyright, and it usually takes a longer time to obtain
registration, since the Patent and Trademark Office conducts a substantive review of any potentially
conflicting marks, or marks that might be confused with others.

A patent for an invention grants a property right to the inventor that will prevent anyone else from
making, using, or selling an invention. A patent lasts for a limited amount of time, usually 20 years from
the date the application was filed, and is only effective in the country in which it was filed. The
application for a patent must include a detailed description of how the invention works. Since a patent
is considered "property," it may be bought, sold, mortgaged, or licensed by the owner.