What is the difference between copyright and patents?

Copyright and patents are two different types of intellectual property (IP) protection used to protect different types of works. Copyright applies to original works of authorship such as music, literature, paintings, and other creative works. Copyright serves to protect the rights of the creator to control how their work is used and distributed. With copyright, the creator has the exclusive right to reproduce, adapt, publicly display, and distribute their work. Patents, on the other hand, are used to protect inventions or processes. Patents provide the creator exclusive rights to an invention or process for a limited amount of time. This means that they have the only right to manufacture, use, and sell their invention or process during the duration of the patent. The purpose of a patent is to provide a limited monopoly to incentivize inventors to bring their inventions to market. In general, copyright law covers creative works that can be expressed in a tangible form, while patent law covers inventions and processes that are novel and non-obvious. In Arizona, copyright protection typically lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years, and patent protection typically lasts for 20 years.

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