Introduction

Knowing the difference between a copyright and a trademark is essential for any creator or business that wants to protect their intellectual property. While both trademarks and copyrights provide legal protection, they protect different types of assets; making an informed choice is the first step in developing strong Copyright Registration and protection for your brand.

Trademarks and copyrights are both important types of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) that grant owners exclusive rights to their creations or brand identifiers, for a specified time. Knowing how they are different is important for developing a strategy for effective protection, starting with successful Copyright Registration.

What is Copyright?

A copyright is a type of intellectual property that covers original works of authorship. Such protection is available to the makers of literary, artistic, musical, dramatic, and certain other creative works. Consider it as a protection for the tangible expression of an idea and not the idea itself. For example, you can't copyright the idea of a wizard school, but you can copyright a particular book about one.

Copyright Protection typically encompasses:

Literary works, such as books, articles, and poetry.
Artistic works, such as paintings, sculptures, and photographs.
Music, movies, and sound recordings.
Computer software and code.

Copyright Protection is automatic in most jurisdictions, as soon a work is created and fixed in a tangible form, such as written down or saved as a digital file. Nevertheless, it is very much recommended to pursue a Copyright Registration. A formal Copyright Registration is public proof of ownership and often required to actually file a lawsuit against an infringer. Therefore, Copyright Registration is an important step towards enforcement.

What is Trademark?

Trademark is a form of intellectual property that protects brand identifiers usually consists of any word, phrase, symbol, design, or combination thereof that identifies and distinguishes one party’s goods or services from those of others. Notable trademarks include the Nike "swoosh," the bitten apple logo of Apple, and the slogan "Just Do It." The core function of a trademark is to avert confusion among consumers in the marketplace. The Copyright Protection for a creative logo is different from its trademark protection. Copyright Registration protects the artistic design, whereas, a trademark protects the logo as a brand identifier in commerce.

Legal Protection Comparison

When to Choose Which

The choice between copyright and trademark hinges on what you are trying to protect.

Choose Copyright if: You have original work. If you wrote a book, created a song, developed a website or software program, then you should consider Copyright Registration to protect your creative labor. Copyright grants you the exclusive right to reproduce and distribute your work.
Choose Trademark if: You have a brand to protect. If you are using a particular name, logo, or tagline to promote your goods and services, trademark protection can keep others from using a similar mark that would cause confusion for your customers.
Sometimes, You Need Both: Sometimes you need both: A logo can be an excellent example of the overlap. A logo may be eligible for Copyright Protection as an original artistic work and also function as a Trademark to identify your brand. In that case, the best decision would be to pursue both Copyright and Trademark for both protections.

How Lawfinity Advises on IP Strategy

At Lawfinity, we recognize that your intellectual property is one of your biggest assets. Our specialists break down the complex world of IP law by advising you on what you need to protect and how you can protect it. We develop a holistic approach, which includes trademark services and a streamlined Copyright Registration process. We make sure your original works receive full Copyright Protection while your brand identity remains unique and secure in the marketplace.