Patent Trademark and a Copyright

The Difference and Meaning to Websites

A patent is the legally assigned right of ownership for an invention issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office. The term of ownership of the patent is 20 years. There are exceptions as in the case of drug patents.

US patents only apply to the United States.

The rights of a patent owner exclude others from making, using or selling the invention or importing the invention to the United States.

When the patent process is started, the words Patent Pending are applied to the invention. Once a patent is awarded, the word Patent and the Patent number can be affixed to the invention or creation.

Looking for Something Different?

Custom Search

A trademark is a device, name, symbol or word used in the sale and or distribution of goods and is an indicator of the source of the goods. It is a mark, name or symbol that serves to distinguish where or by who the goods were made.

Trademark rights allows the owner to prevent competing companies from using similar marks or names to make or sell goods.

A copyright is the right of ownership granted to authors of original works of authorship. These works include literature, dramatic, musical, artistic and in some cases intellectual works.

The owner of copyright has the exclusive right to reproduce, prepare derivative works and to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work.

Copyright also extends to the public performance or display of works.

Although the copyright is granted the owner at the time of creation, in order to get legal remedies should someone have stolen a work, a copyright must be registered.

Rather than submitting every single work for copyright, some artist will produce a compilation of their works and copyright them all at once.

More on Patent Trademark and a Copyright?