Innovations came in existence out of necessities, requirements, passion, etc. We all are living in a world which runs over innovations, so these innovations have to face threat and to protect them we have Intellectual Property rights.
Intellectual property consists of intangible creations like artistic works which may include music, writing, scientific & non-scientific discoveries, symbol development and logo development as well.
Intellectual Property laws protect all these creations from copying, selling, misusing etc. If a person who has invented a particular product or started something then he must get his creation registered, it will protect their creation under Intellectual Property laws.
Intellectual Property is a vast topic. The most common and used are :
- Trademark
- Patent
- Copyright
These categories protect intellectual property in different manners and serve a completely different purpose. But a problem arises when a person needs to protect his creation he gets confused between patent, trademark and copyright. To understand these terms basic differences between them are mentioned below :
| Categories | Patent | Trademark | Copyright |
| Governedby | Patents are governed by The Patents Act, 1970 | Trademarks are governed by the Trademarks Act, 1999 | Copyrights are governed by The Copyrights Act, 1957 |
| Whengranted | Patents protect inventions which are novel, original and also has industrial utility. | Trademark protects the unique name of a brand which differentiates a particular brand from others. It may include name, slogans, shape, colour, etc. | Copyright is for the protection of original creations like literary works, artistic works, dramatic works, etc. |
| Validityperiod | Validity is 20 years period from the date of filing of an applicationFor Plant Patent Validity is 15 years period from the date of filing of the application | Validity period is 10 years and it can be renewed after expiry of the validity period. | Valid for a lifetime of the author and 60 years after his death. |
| Reach | A patent provides territorial right if it is granted in India then it is effective in India only. | Applied in the country only, as per territorial jurisdiction. | Copyright protection is available in most countries of the world. |
| Right comes into existence | Patent registration takes about 2-3 years in all. But one can stop others from claiming right over a particular patent the moment he applies for a provisional patent. | Once the trademark gets registered the applicant of the mark can claim complete right over the said mark. Registration usually takes 8-12 months. | Exclusive rights over the copyright are created the moment the authorship creates the work. |
| Provisional application | A provisional application provides a time of 12 months to file a complete specification and priority date claim as well. | Trademark only requires trademark search. | Not required. |
| Symbolic representation | No symbolic representation | Symbolic representation is used at the time of registration in process and after completion of the registration process as well. | Symbolic representation after completion of the registration. |
