You’ve got a brilliant idea for a new product or a business opportunity you want to take on. Your idea is unique, so you’re afraid that people might start copying you soon after you go public — and that could make your idea drown in a sea of competition. It’s a common occurrence if people don’t take the right steps before going public with their idea.
Fortunately, there are multiple ways to protect your idea, whether it’s a new design feature for a gadget or a business name you don’t want to be used by competitors. This is where copyrights, trademarks, and patents come into the picture — but it’s often a confusing topic when determining which one you’ll need. This is the post you need if you would like more clarity about these terms, as we’ll take a deep dive into each option.
Overview of copyrights, trademarks, and patents
Before we take an in-depth look at each of these protection systems, we’ll start by providing a basic overview. It’s important to understand that each of these systems is designed for specific types of intellectual property — and if you send in a request for the wrong one, it could spell problems for you in the future. Plus, it also adds the risk of declined applications, which will certainly cause delays for you. When you’re trying to get your product or idea to market as fast as possible, then delays are something that you cannot afford.
- Copyright: The copyright is very popular and is used in a variety of situations. It’s a type of protection for your intellectual property that’s related to original work. You specify that you are the original author of something and then add copyright to it. For example, if you wrote an original book, then you could copyright its contents. Artists often use copyright to protect the music they write and produce. Art products and even architectural developments can also be copyrighted.
- Patents: A patent is issued when you want to have exclusive rights to a certain design concept or invention, but the patent will only remain active for a certain period of time. Different types of patents exist, so this is something that we’ll also discuss later on in this article.
- Trademarks: Trademarks are issued in cases where you want to protect something specific that sets your brand or your products apart from other products on the market. It’s often a symbol, a logo, or even an original word.
In the next sections, we’ll go into more detail about each one.
Defining copyright
We’ll start by taking a more in-depth look at copyright. It’s one of the most popular forms of intellectual property protection that is used by individuals and businesses. Copyright is generally used to protect work that was originally created by someone — this “someone” could be you or a business that hired you to produce content.
A wide variety of things can be copyrighted. For example, music producers and artists will generally copyright the songs they make as well as the lyrics they use. Authors will sometimes use copyright to protect the original content that they wrote, such as a book.
When you copyright something, it’s going to give you, as the owner, the right to display and share it and to license what you are copyrighting solely.
Filing and applying for copyright on all your work is not always necessary. Once you’ve produced something and made it public under your name, it becomes obvious that you’re the owner. With the latest advancements in digital technologies, it has become easier to track the person or company who published something first. Thus, this could also be used as a strategy to define yourself as the sole owner of the materials.
With this said, there are some cases where copyright is helpful. For example, if you find yourself in a court case where the accuser says you stole their work, having the copyright documentation with you can be a tremendous help. This could even help to turn the tables in the court case.
There are some exceptions that you should also understand when it comes to copyright. For example, fair usage is often allowed where it is permitted for content to be used in educational settings, as well as when writing news-related resources.
If you are hired to create content, one thing to consider is that the copyright owner will sometimes be the company you create content for — not you. Always look through the agreements before accepting such an assignment, especially if you wish to withhold the copyright.
Understanding trademarks
Next up are trademarks. These are set in place to protect design elements. These elements may be related to a brand or even a specific product in some cases. Trademarks most commonly protect company logos, brand names, or slogans.
Think about the McDonald’s sign. It’s something that people all over the world easily recognize. Nike, Pepsi, Gucci, and many other names are commonly found at local stores, and they are all brands that have trademarked both their name and the logo that represents them.
A trademark helps to ensure other companies are not able to create design elements that represent themselves in such a way that it has a similar appearance or wording to what you have trademarked.
What would happen if you suddenly decided to open up a local takeaway joint in your city and displayed the McDonald’s golden arches on top of the shop? Once McDonald’s became aware of this, their lawyers would likely file a lawsuit because you breached their trademark. A trademark is a great way to ensure you are able to protect the appearance and terms related to your brand from an early stage.
Trademarks also add protection against design elements that might seem similar and may create confusion. If you modified that M a little bit, but it still resembled or “copied” the design elements from McDonald’s, then they are still entitled to open up a case against you.
Explaining patents
Finally, patents are temporary protection licenses that help to ensure you are the sole company or individual who is allowed to design something you’ve come up with over a certain period of time.
The number of patents filed has increased considerably over the past two decades. In 2021 alone, 374,006 patents were approved and granted to businesses and individuals in the United States alone. The year before, in 2020, the figure sat at 182,218 patents.
Let’s say you’ve created a new type of engine for a car. The engine is different from what is currently available on the market, and consumers love it. If you put your unique engine on the market, other companies in the automotive industry would surely look into the trend and implement similar moves on their side. This is where a patent comes into the picture. A patent helps to ensure you are the only company that may manufacture this particular engine type for the next couple of years.
There are three different types of patents. Understanding them will help to ensure you file for the correct one.
- Utility patent: This patent refers to the protection of the invention of something new or improvements on something that already exists. It could be an improvement on either a product or a process. The utility patent will protect you for two decades. Utility patents are used for machinery, pharmaceuticals, software, and more.
- Design patent: These patents are filed when you want to protect a unique design that you have applied to a product you manufacture. Maybe you’ve come up with a unique way to make the strings of a guitar more functional but also look better. Another example would be if you made a smartphone with a novel shape that’s nothing like the others on the market. The patent would help to ensure other manufacturers could not copy the specific look that you introduced.
- Plant patent: The third type is the plant patent, an option that only relates to people who have been able to cultivate a new type of plant that was not previously discovered. This may include a subspecies of an existing plant that might hold additional benefits. For example, the specific plant might be able to produce more potent herbal medicines used in the treatment of diseases.
Determining which one is right for you
Now that we’ve taken a closer look at copyright, trademarks, and patents, we hope you have a better understanding of how they could fit with your product or idea.
It can still sometimes be a bit confusing when you want to ensure you get effective protection before going to market. Looking at a few examples might be a great solution to clear things up. Below, we’ll provide a couple of scenarios and explain which intellectual property protection option would be best suited.
- You’re an artist who worked on a masterpiece. It’s one of the best works you’ve created throughout your career, and you’re afraid that someone might copy your work. In this case, copyright is something that you should use to protect your intellectual property.
- You’ve taken a general idea that already exists, and you’ve improved on it. You decide to give it a noteworthy name to ensure it’s easily recognizable by potential customers. At this point, you want to protect the invention and also the idea. Thus, you should consider getting a patent for the invention. You can then use a trademark to ensure the name of the product you’ve designed is also protected.
- You decided to create something different from other products in its market. The product is going to help people in new ways, but you want to ensure you have the sole right to make the product. A patent will help to give you this particular protection.
Protecting your intellectual property rights with copyrights, trademarks, or patents
Once you recognize the right type of protection system for your intellectual property, then it’s time to take action. The specific steps that you’ll take largely depend on where you live. Thanks to the significant improvements made in internet technologies, you can often complete the application online.
To get started with a copyright application, go to Copyright.gov if you are in the United States. This will give you access to the online application process, but be sure to read through all the regulations and make sure you have the appropriate documentation.
For patents or trademarks, however, you’ll need to turn to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This office deals with all matters related to trademarks and patents and can also be a valuable resource if you need some extra help deciding how to proceed.
Conclusion
Choosing between a copyright, trademark, or patent can be confusing. By understanding what each of these is, however, you’ll have a much easier time determining which one to choose. We’ve looked at the difference between trademark, copyright, and patent with example scenarios in this article to give you a better understanding. Now, it’s up to you to determine which protection system is suitable for your business idea.