Difference Between Copyright and Trademark – How to Protect

A Comprehensive Guide to Help You Understand the Difference Between Copyright and Trademark

Failure to protect intellectual property means hampering your own success in the modern competitive era. Whether you own an SME or lead a large firm, safeguarding the intellectual property that belongs to your business is a must.  Similarly, if you are an author of creative work recognizable as intellectual property, you must try to safeguard it from any kind of theft or infringement.

Two key tools that can help you safeguard your creative assets are termed copyrights and trademarks. However, the main issue that leads to failure of people and businesses using them for protection of their intellectual properties, is lack of knowledge about both these protection tools and differences between them. Some people even consider both these terms the same. However, they are quite different.

Knowing the difference between trademarks and copyrights will help you understand their distinct purposes and the level of protection both offer. This article describes copyrights and trademarks in detail, outlines their characteristics, and provides a few examples. Additionally, it will also highlight the key difference between these intellectual property protection tools. Read on to learn more.

Defining Copyrights

The type of intellectual property protection that safeguards original works of authorship, including literary, artistic, musical, dramatic, and architectural works, is termed copyrights. Individuals responsible for crafting original work of authorship gain exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, and create derivative works based on the copyrighted material.

The key characteristics of copyrights include originality as they protect original works from theft or infringement instead of facts or ideas. The work that needs to be copyright protected should come in a tangible form such as photo, film, or writing. It is worth mentioning that copyrights automatically arise once the original work of authorship gets crafted and introduced to others.

Simply put, the original work of authorship gets automatic protection. It should be noted that copyrights have a limited duration and are applicable for the lifetime of the author and, in some cases, 70 years in addition to the lifetime of the author if properly registered in the copyright office. Some examples of copyrighted work are books, music, artistic work, software programs, movies, and dramas.

Grasping the Concept of Trademarks

A symbol, word, phrase, design, or combination of these elements that uniquely identifies a product or service can be described as a trademark. You can call it a distinctive badge that differentiates a brand from its competitors. A brand gains exclusive rights to use such a symbol, word, phrase, design, or combination of all the aforementioned elements with its merchandise or services by establishing a trademark.

The key characteristics of trademarks are its use as an identification of the source of products or services and distinctiveness that makes the badge substantially unique to avoid any confusion. Additionally, the brand owning the trademark gets exclusive rights to use the mark.

An established trademark helps owners ensure protection against unauthorized use of the mark by others. Some key examples of trademarks are logos devised by businesses working in various industries to represent their brands. Additionally, brand names and slogans are also a part of established trademarks.

Key Differences Between Trademarks and Copyrights

Both trademarks and copyrights safeguard intellectual property and offer protection against their theft or infringement. However, their scopes and purposes differ based on the nature of protection, scope, duration, and ownership. Here are some key differences to help you understand why trademarks and copyrights are considered poles apart.

1. Both copyrights and trademarks differ in terms of the nature of protection; trademarks are employed to protect brand identities, while copyrights safeguard the original work of authorship.
2. Copyrights and trademarks also vary in terms of scope of protection as trademarks safeguard particular symbols, designs, or words. Conversely, copyrights help businesses and individuals protect their entire work, sometimes a large set of intellectual properties.
3. As far as the duration is concerned, trademarks can be renewed indefinitely, while copyrights have a limited lifespan.
4. The ownership of copyrights is generally held by the creator of a particular intellectual property while trademarks can be owned by an individual, business, community, or even government.

Opting for the Right Kind of Protection

The nature of your intellectual property matters a lot when it comes to selecting the right protection. It can help you determine whether you need a trademark or copyright. If you’re eyeing the protection of a brand name, logo, or slogan, the trademark should be your go-to choice. Conversely, opting for copyrights to protect original creative works, such as books, music, or software, is the right choice.

For instance, an IT company may register its brand name and logo as a trademark, while the software program it creates will be protected through copyrights. A few additional considerations while opting for the right protection include the geographic scope of intellectual property protection, varied legal remedies, and the legal advice from a seasoned attorney.

The Role of a Plagiarism Checker in Copyright Protection

You may have frequently heard about this tool. Some people consider them a great utility to analyze content for probable plagiarism instances. However, a cutting-edge free plagiarism checker can perfectly work as a beneficial tool when it comes to copyright protection. It will emerge as a perfect helping hand in various scenarios. You must know how to use it for the sake of copyright protection. It will leverage its sophisticated algorithms and extensive database to easily determine probable infringement cases in literary work. By using such a tool, you can easily:

• Avoid accidental plagiarism and ensure original work.
• Identify unauthorized use of your copyright-protected work.
• Safeguard your reputation from false allegations.
• Ensure the integrity of your literary work.
• Stay away from legal consequences that may arise because of copyright infringement allegations.

To Conclude

Understanding the concepts of copyrights and trademarks is highly essential. Moreover, exploring the key differences between these tools to protect intellectual properties is a must to ensure that you use the right protection.

This article discusses everything in detail to help you easily grasp the definition of copyrights and trademarks. It also outlines key differences and the role of a plagiarism checker to help you make the most out of these intellectual property protections and achieve success in a competitive era. Hopefully, you will find it useful!