Difference between patent, copyrights and trademarks

We frequently hear the phrases patent, copyrights or trademarks from the business houses. We do not have a clear idea about these phrases. These words are used to protect the identity of a product from the infringement. It also builds the brand recognition. However, the people frequently ask the question what are the difference between patent, copyrights and trademarks.

Patent

A patent is the exclusive legal rights of the inventor by which he gets a temporary monopoly of his invention. The patent is granted by a specific country for a limited period. Without the inventor's consent, nobody can reproduce, develop or commercially use of the invention in that country within the patented period. In exchange oh these rights, the inventor should disclose the following information to the public.

• The history of invention.
• The technical process of the invention.
• How does it work?
• Applicable field of the work.

The granted patent will be effective only in that country wherefrom the patent is granted. No other country will provide the protection of the invention. Therefore, the inventor should apply in different locations for the effective protection of his inventions. The main objective of granting the patent is to encourage the people to work for more inventions.

Copyrights

Copyrights protect the original works of an author in the field of literature, movies, theaters, painting, sculpture, music and other creative artistic works. The creator of the artistic materials gets the exclusive rights of printing; distributing and reproducing his/her work. Like patent, if anyone wants to use the work of a creator, he has to take permission from the author. In some countries, the author automatically gets the copyright protection for his original creation. The accepted practice of marking original work in theUSA is that with the symbol © followed by the date from which copyright is claimed and the owner of the copyright. The unique feature of the copyright laws is the moral rights clause that was introduced at "Berne Convention for The Protection of Literary and Artistic Works" in 1971.

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In addition to the financial incentive, the moral rights protect the reputation and integrity of the creators. With the power of the copyright law, the author can take legal action against the derogatory remarks related to his work. In some countries, the legal inheritor of the author gets the benefits of the protection after the death of the creator.

Trademark

Trademark is an identity mark for product of business. The trademark of a reputable company like Nike, Microsoft or Pepsi assures the dependability, quality and reliability of the products or services. Generally, a word, name, symbol or image related to the product or services are used for the impression. Trademark law prevents others from using the registered trademarks of others without the consent of the trademark owners. The trademark increases the visibility of the products and helps to create a long-term relationship with the customers. Therefore, trademark is a vital tool to develop the business.

For any assistance and clarification regarding patent, copyrights and trademarks laws, you can contact Lex Protector