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Difference between Copyright & Trademark

We often confuse between copyright & trademark but they have several points of difference which needs to be clarified before further registration.

Copyright
Trademark
  • Copyright is defined as a property right of an original work owned by an individual which is fixed in a physical medium of expression, thereby giving the holder an exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, perform, and display the work. The original work includes literary, musical, artistic, photographic, a film work or a computer programme, etc.
  • Trademark gives identity to a brand; it is a recognizable sign, word, design or an expression which is used  to identify the goods or services of a seller from those of others. A trademark helps in securing the brand name from being used or misused by the competitors; it also helps prevent confusion and manipulation of consumers, who come to associate with quality and attributes of a distinct brand in particular. A trademark is mostly located on the label, a voucher, or on the product itself.
  • Unlike trademark Copyright just has one symbol i.e. © which can be placed on the original piece of work that you have created. 
  • A trademark is initially denoted by ™ sign when a trademark registration file is under process; once registered, you can start using ® symbol which also indicates that your brand name is fully secured now.
  • Copyright law does not protect any bare phrase, slogans or a trade name.
  • A trademark protects titles, phrases, slogans, a trade name and words.
  • Copyright registration is different from a trademark filing. Filing fee is less, time to get registered is short as compared to trademark. The examination by the Copyright office is limited to ensuring that the registration application is properly completed.
  • The trademark filing process is time consuming and is filing fees is substantially more than copyright. The examination by trademark office includes a substantive review of potentially conflicting marks which are found to be confusingly similar.
  • Copyright registration is primarily an administrative process
  • Trademark registration process is very much an adversarial process.
In the Copyright law, it provides compulsory licensing & Royalty payments while which is not valid for trademark law. The tests and definition of infringement are different for each case.

Still confused between the two? To get any of the services contact our experts and visit Quick Company.

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