What is the difference between a patent, a copyright, and a trademark?

Patents, copyrights, and trademarks are all forms of intellectual property and allow the creators of products or services to be compensated for their work. However, there are differences in the type of protection that each offers. A patent is a form of protection given by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to an invention. Patents provide the inventor exclusive rights to their invention for a certain period of time. This means no one else can make, use, or sell the invention without the inventor’s permission. In South Carolina, patents are valid for 20 years from the date of filing the application. A copyright protects original works of authorship such as books, music, films, and other creative works. Copyrights allow authors to control how their work is used and to benefit financially from their work for a period of time. In South Carolina, copyrights last for the life of the author plus 70 years. A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or design that identifies and distinguishes the origin of the goods or services of one party from those of others. It also serves to protect the company’s reputation and goodwill. In South Carolina, trademarks can last forever if the trademark is kept in use. To sum up, patents protect inventions, copyrights protect original works, and trademarks protect words, phrases, symbols, and designs. All three forms of intellectual property can be valuable to the creators of products and services.

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What is the difference between a patent, a copyright, and a trademark?

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