Patent vs Copyright
vs Trademark

A patent grants the inventor the exclusive right to prevent others from making, using, selling, or importing the patented invention for a limited time — typically 20 years from the filing date for a utility patent. The key word is invention. Patents protect useful, novel, non-obvious inventions: machines, processes, articles of manufacture, and compositions of matter, as well as any new and useful improvements on those categories.

In practical terms, patents cover how something works, how something is made, and how something is used. Apple's classic US 7,657,849 — the "slide to unlock" patent — is a utility patent protecting a specific method of unlocking a touchscreen device. Medical device manufacturers patent the mechanisms by which a drug is delivered. Chemical companies patent the molecular structure of new compounds and the processes used to synthesize them.

Design patents protect the ornamental appearance of a functional article — its shape, visual configuration, or surface ornamentation. Apple's design patent on the iPhone's rounded-rectangle shape (US D618,677) was at the center of a billion-dollar lawsuit against Samsung. Plant patents protect new, asexually reproduced plant varieties and are rare — fewer than 1,500 are issued per year.

The practical implication for software founders: a patent on software must tie the algorithm to a specific technical implementation that produces a concrete, tangible result. "Do X on a computer" is not patentable. "A method for reducing network latency by caching DNS lookups using a bloom filter at the edge node" might be — because it describes a specific technical mechanism achieving a specific technical result.

Copyright protects original works of authorship — the creative expression of an idea, not the idea itself. As soon as you write code, compose music, draw an illustration, write an article, or take a photograph, copyright attaches automatically. You don't need to register, file anything, or put a © symbol on it. The work is protected from the moment of creation.

Copyright covers software code — the specific lines of code you write, not the functionality they implement. This is a critical distinction for software founders. Copyright prevents someone from copying your source code verbatim. It does nothing to prevent a competitor from writing their own code that does exactly the same thing — using the same algorithm, the same user experience, the same technical approach. For that protection, you need a patent.

Copyright lasts an extraordinarily long time: for works created after 1978, it lasts for the author's life plus 70 years. For works made for hire (where an employer owns the copyright), it lasts 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. This is vastly longer than any patent.

Registering copyright with the US Copyright Office is optional but provides significant legal advantages: you can sue for statutory damages (up to $150,000 per infringement for willful infringement) without proving actual damages, and you can recover attorney's fees. Registration costs as little as $65 for a single work filed online. For commercial software, databases, and valuable creative assets, registration is worth the small investment.

What copyright does not cover: facts, ideas, titles, names, slogans, short phrases, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, or discoveries. The idea for a product is not copyrightable. The title of a book is not copyrightable. A recipe for chocolate chip cookies is not copyrightable (though the description of the recipe in prose may be). Copyright protects how you expressed something — not the something itself.

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, design, or combination of these that identifies the source of goods or services and distinguishes them from those of competitors. Trademarks protect brand identity — the signal that tells customers whose product they're buying. Nike's swoosh, Apple's bitten apple, and the word "Google" are all trademarks.

Unlike patents and copyrights, trademark rights arise from use in commerce — not from registration. If you've been using a name in your market, you have some common-law trademark rights, even without filing. However, federal registration with the USPTO provides nationwide priority, the right to use the ® symbol, and a legally presumed right to use the mark across the country. The ™ symbol (or ℠ for services) can be used without registration.

Trade dress — the overall visual appearance of a product or its packaging — is also protectable as a trademark. The distinctive shape of a Coca-Cola bottle, the look and feel of a retail store layout, the distinctive color of a Tiffany box — all are examples of trade dress that has been protected through trademark law. For product companies, protecting trade dress can be as important as protecting the product name.

A critical difference from patents: trademarks can last indefinitely, as long as the mark is actively used in commerce and renewals are filed every 10 years. A patent expires after a fixed term regardless of commercial activity. This means a valuable brand name can be protected essentially forever, while a patented invention eventually enters the public domain.

Trademark protection is also geographically limited to the markets where the mark is used or registered. A US federal trademark registration covers the United States; separate registrations are needed in other countries. International entrepreneurs can use the Madrid System to file trademark applications in multiple countries through a single filing, similar to how PCT works for patents.