What is the difference between an invention and an idea?

In North Carolina, invention and idea are both protected by Intellectual Property Law. This law grants exclusive rights to an inventor or an author of an idea. However, there is a difference between an invention and an idea. An invention is a physical product that has been created with a novel arrangement of components that are brought together in a unique combination to form a functioning machine, device, manufacture, or composition of matter. It must also have utility and novelty to be eligible for patent protection. On the other hand, an idea is a thought or plan for a product or service that has not been reduced to practice. It is protected under copyright and trademark law and is not eligible for patent protection. For an idea to be eligible for copyright protection, it must be expressed in tangible form, such as paper, sound, or video. The main difference between an invention and an idea is that an invention is something tangible that can perform a certain task, while an idea is simply an intangible concept or thought.

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