What Distinguishes Patents From Trademarks And Copyrights?
Thursday, December 31st, 2009Patents, trademarks and copyrights are different aspects of a single idea. These are different kinds of intellectual property that help in protection of property rights of individuals or companies. However, there are several key points of differences among the three.
One of the key differences is the fact that the patents basically secure the tangible or conceptual inventions, while copyrights secure literary, artistic or other similar works. A trademark, on the contrary, can be a word or a symbolic design that can distinguish products of one firm from the others.
The next important factor that distinguishes patents from others is the high standard of safety provided by it due to strict terms and conditions. This means that even if the infringer has no real knowledge of the infringement, he will be liable for the same. Thus patents offer greater protection against infringement, whereas copyright and trademarks provide for reasonable use and other exceptions.
A patent is normally awarded for a span of 20 years, after which it goes into the public domain. Whereas, as far as copyrights are concerned, they are normally given for 60-70 years, and trademarks do not cease to exist even for centuries if you want. Moreover, patents are capable of protecting your interests in a much more exhaustive way. This means that where copyrights protect only the expression of a particular idea, patents cover the processes as well as the basic principles behind a creation.
Finally, since there are varying levels of safety provided for by these three IPR types, the procedure for submitting an application for them is also quite different from each other. For instance, filing for a patent has to have an appropriate disclosure of the product, on the other hand the one for copyright needs attaching a copy of the original work itself, and the one for trademark simply needs a proper search for similar marks in the market.
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