What is the difference between copyright and trademark law?
Copyright and trademark law are two of the major branches of intellectual property law in California. Both are concerned with protecting intellectual property from infringement, but they do so in very different ways. Copyright law is a branch of the law which grants protection for creative works or expressions, such as literary works, musical compositions, and visual art. Copyright provides exclusive rights to the creator of a work, and these rights include the exclusive right to reproduce or distribute copies of the work, to make derivatives of the work, and to publicly perform or display the work. In the US, the duration of copyright protection typically lasts for the life of the author and an additional 70 years after the author’s death. Trademark law is a branch of the law which protects items that identify the brand or origin of a product. These can include words, designs, logos, or other symbols that are associated with a product or company. Trademark law is designed to protect consumers by allowing them to easily spot and distinguish the origin of a product or service. Unlike copyright, trademark rights are obtained through use and registration, rather than intellectual creation. The duration of trademark protection can be indefinite, as long as the trademark is still in use. In summary, copyright and trademark law are two related branches of intellectual property law in California. While they are both designed to protect intellectual property from infringement, they are very different in terms of the type of protection they provide and the way they are obtained.
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