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A trademark is a
word, phrase or symbol that identifies the source of a product and
distinguishes it from others. Brand names are trademarked.
Trademarked product names or company names are shown with the "™"
symbol, usually written in a smaller font.
Example: Invention Mysteries™
A registered trademark is a trademark or service mark
which has been registered with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
The symbol for a registered trademark is "®."
Example: Pepsi®
Trademark rights arise from either using the mark in public or
filing an application to register it with the Patent & Trademark
Office. Certain items are not eligible for a trademark, such as
letters, numbers, slogans and colors (such as the pink color of
Owens-Corning's insulation).
A service mark is the same as a trademark except that it
identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a
product. Service marks are shown with the symbol "SM."
Example: GE's We Bring Good Things To LifeSM
A copyright protects an original artistic or literary work
and lasts for the "life of the author plus 70 years." Copyrights
protect the following: literary works, such as books, plays,
articles or poems; songs (without a copyright, there would be no
royalty payments to the musician); movies, including movie
soundtracks; pictures and paintings; architectural works; and
pantomimes.
A copyright is created when the work is published with the
copyright symbol "©" and the year next to it, and the copyright
holder usually places his name on the copyright notice, too. A
copyright can also be filed with the Library of Congress to prevent
or resolve future disputes over ownership.
Example: Warner Brothers © 2001 or Copyright © Warner Brothers
2001.
What is not eligible for copyright protection? Works that consist
entirely of common knowledge and contain no original work, such as
calendars, rulers, height and weight charts, tape measures.
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A patent protects an invention for 20 years from the date
the patent is applied for with the patent office. There are three
types of patents: utility, design and plant. A utility patent
protects the functionality of an invention; a design patent protects
the appearance of an invention; and a plant patent, as the name
implies, refers to the discovery or creation of a new plant. The
patent number, or the term "patent pending," is placed somewhere on
the product or the packaging.
The term "patent pending" means that a patent has been applied
for but is not yet issued. If the patent later issues, the patent
holder is protected for 20 years from the date of his application.
The unauthorized use of another's patent, trademark or copyright is
called "infringement." When this happens, the result is usually
litigation through the courts.
Approximately 20 percent of the patents issued each year go to
independent inventors, while 80 percent go to corporations; yet more
than two-thirds of the major new product breakthroughs in the 20th
century came from individual inventors rather than corporations.
Further, while many people assume that a patent usually makes an
inventor wealthy, fewer than 2 percent of all patents actually
produce a profit for the inventor.
The fourth and final type of intellectual property is the
trade secret. Examples of trade secrets include the recipe for
Colonel Sanders' chicken and the formula for Coca-Cola®. Trade
secrets are not patented for two reasons: First, patents expire
after 20 years. Second, patents become common knowledge once they're
issued and, even though they offer legal protection against
infringement, patent attorneys and product developers can sometimes
"design around the patent." In some cases, a firm will try to
reverse-engineer a product to find out what ingredients it contains
and how it is made.
That, in a nutshell, explains the difference between a trademark,
a copyright and a patent and what all those symbols stand for.
[Paul Niemann]
Paul Niemann is the author of the "Invention Mysteries" book, which
is available through his
website and at fine
bookstores everywhere. He may be reached at
niemann7@aol.com.
© Paul Niemann 2005 |
