What is the difference between copyright and patents?

Copyright and patents are two unique forms of legal protection available for certain items. Copyright and patents protect different matters and provide exclusive rights to the owner of each. Copyright is a form of legal protection that applies to expression of ideas. This means that a copyright can be given to a creative work like a book, musical composition, plays, paintings or photographs. It grants the creator exclusive rights like the sole right to reproduce and distribute the copyrighted material. Copyright does not protect an idea or a concept, but the expression of the idea instead. Patents are a form of legal protection that applies to inventions. In South Carolina, an invention is defined as a new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter. When an inventor obtains a patent, the inventor obtains the exclusive right to make, use, sell and distribute that invention. This exclusive right prevents other people from making, using, selling and distributing the patented invention without the consent of the inventor. Thus, although both copyright and patents are forms of legal protection, they protect different things and give the owner of each different exclusive rights. Copyright protects expression of ideas, while patents protect inventions. Furthermore, copyright does not protect an idea or a concept, but the expression of the idea instead.

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