Trademark, copyright, and patent are the three kinds of intellectual property rights. The IPR is the rights given to creator over the creations of their minds. According to the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), the intellectual property can be defined as the creations of the mind, the inventions, literary and artistic works and symbols, names, and images used in commerce. With the IPR the creator gets an exclusive right over the use of his/her creation for a certain period of time.
There exist the clear difference between the trademark, copyright, and the patent. However, still, the people find it hard to make out the difference between them and get confused. Thus, today with this article we will take a look at the main differences between the trademark, copyright, and patent.
Trademark
- Meaning- Trademark can be defined as any unique name, word, slogan, symbol, design that can be used to distinguish the source of one good from others in the market. The owner can enjoy the exclusive benefits of usage and distribution over his mark by getting the trademark registration in India.
- Requirements- In order to get registered trademark the mark was chosen must be distinctive and not generic.
- Validity- The trademark registration once obtained is valid as long as the mark is used in commerce. However, the period of 10 years renewal must be obtained.
- Benefits- There are multiple benefits that come with trademark registration in India. One main benefit of trademark registration is that the owner gets the exclusive rights over his mark after that. Moreover, after trademark registration, you can put the ® symbol with your marks that improve the credibility of your business.
- Examples- Some of the famous examples of trademark registration are the registered brand names like Apple, Maggie, Puma and the musical notation of the ICICI bank etc.
Copyright
- Meaning- Copyright is the kind of IPR that protects the original works of authorship, such as books, articles, songs, photographs, sculptures, choreography, sound recordings, motion pictures, and creative works.
- Requirements- In order to get the copyright the work used must be original and creative. Moreover, the work should be capable of being fixed in a tangible medium.
- Validity- If the author is an individual then the validity of the trademark is Author’s life plus 70 years. However, when it is owned by the company then the life of a trademark is 95 years after the date the work is first made public.
- Benefits- With copyright registration in India the owner get the exclusive rights to reproduce, make derivative of works, distribute and make public performance and display the copyrighted works. Further, the owner can place the © symbol on his work and can make a legal evidence and public notice of ownership. Moreover, he can sue any person who tries to use his work without the authorization.
- Copyright examples- Like the famous writers like Chetan Bhagat, singer and composers like AR Rehman hold the copyright on their work and charges consideration for granting their rights.
Patent
- Meaning- Patent is the unique IPR right that can be granted to the valuable inventions, such as novel processes, machines, manufactures, compositions etc.
- Requirements- In order to be registered under the patent the invention must be new, useful and most importantly the non-obvious.
- Validity- The patent is valid for the total period of 20 years.
- Benefits – After getting the patent registration in India the inventor gets the exclusive right to prevent others from making, using, selling, or importing the protected invention.
- Patent examples- Microsoft has successfully obtained the patent registration for its multiple software’s.
Conclusion
There is a clear distinction between the three on the basis of the kind of work they protect however there exists some work that can be protected under both. For instance, a trademark can be obtained for the logo of the business while the copyright is used to protect its creative and artistic aspects of the logo.
