Difference between Copyright and Patent

Do you know the difference between copyright and patent? In the vast realm of intellectual property, two terms often stand out, yet are frequently muddled together: copyright and patent.

While both serve as shields, safeguarding creators and inventors from unauthorised uses, they are distinct in their nature, scope, and application.

Dive with us into the nuances that define and differentiate these two pivotal pillars of protection, helping innovators navigate their rights and responsibilities in the world of creation.

What is Copyright?

Copyright is a form of legal protection given to the creators of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, and certain works.

This protection is available both for published and unpublished works. Here’s a breakdown:

1. Nature of Protection: Copyright gives the creator (or the copyright holder, if the rights have been sold or assigned) the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, or license their work.
2. Others cannot do these things without the copyright holder’s permission.
3. Duration: Copyright protection generally lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. For works created for hire, the duration is shorter, typically 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.
4. Automatic Right: In many jurisdictions, copyright protection is automatic upon the creation and fixation of the work in a tangible form.
5. This means that the moment you write a story, compose a song, or paint a picture, you have copyright protection.
6. Registration can provide additional legal benefits, but it’s not required for the copyright to exist.
7. Limitations: Copyright doesn’t protect ideas, concepts, systems, or methods of operation. Instead, it protects the expression of these ideas. For example, you cannot copyright the idea for a romantic novel, but the specific text of the story you write is protected.
8. Fair Use and Other Exceptions: In certain cases, copyrighted works can be used without permission.
9. This is known as “fair use” and typically applies to uses like criticism, commentary, news reporting, education, and research.
10. The scope and nature of “fair use” or similar exceptions vary by jurisdiction.

What is Patent?

A patent is a legal document and intellectual property right that provides inventors with exclusive rights to their inventions for a specific period.

It grants inventors the authority to exclude others from making, using, selling, or importing their patented inventions without permission.

Patents are typically granted for new and innovative products, processes, machines, or improvements to existing inventions.

Here are some key aspects of patents:

1. Exclusive Rights: Patents provide inventors with exclusive rights to their inventions, allowing them to control how their inventions are used, manufactured, and commercialised.
2. Limited Duration: Patents have a limited duration, typically 20 years from the date of filing for utility patents (which cover new and useful processes, machines, or compositions of matter) and 15 years for design patents (which cover new, original, and ornamental designs for an article of manufacture).
3. After the patent expires, the invention enters the public domain, and others can freely use it.
4. Disclosure Requirement: In exchange for the exclusive rights granted by a patent, inventors must disclose their invention in detail, providing enough information for someone skilled in the field to replicate it.
5. This disclosure contributes to the body of knowledge in the respective field.
6. Types of Patents: There are different types of patents, including utility patents, which cover functional inventions, and design patents, which protect the ornamental design or appearance of a product.
7. Jurisdiction-Specific: Patents are granted and enforced on a country-by-country basis. This means that inventors typically need to file for patents in each country where they want protection.
8. Patent Office: The process of obtaining a patent involves filing an application with the relevant national or regional patent office, such as the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in the United States or the European Patent Office (EPO) in Europe.

Patents play a crucial role in promoting innovation by providing inventors with a financial incentive to invest in research and development.

In exchange for disclosing their inventions to the public, inventors gain a temporary monopoly on the use and commercialisation of their creations, which can lead to technological advancement and economic growth.

What is the Difference Between Copyright and Patent?

Copyright and patent are both forms of intellectual property protection, but they apply to different types of creations and serve different purposes. Here are the main differences:

1. Nature of the Work Protected:
   • Copyright: Protects original works of authorship, such as literature, music, films, software, and some other intellectual works.
   • It does not protect ideas, procedures, methods of operation, or mathematical concepts.
   • Patent: Protects new and useful inventions or discoveries. It can be granted for a new process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof.
2. Duration of Protection:
   • Copyright: The protection usually lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years (for works created by individuals).
   • For works created for hire, anonymous, or pseudonymous works, the copyright lasts for 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.
   • Patent: The duration of protection is typically 20 years from the filing date for utility patents.
   • Design patents, which protect the ornamental design of functional items, are protected for 15 years from issuance in the U.S.
3. Rights Conferred:
   • Copyright: The owner has the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, or license their work, and others cannot do these things without the copyright holder’s permission.
   • Patent: The patent holder has the exclusive right to exclude others from making, using, selling, and distributing the patented invention in the country where the patent is granted.
4. Requirements for Protection:
   • Copyright: The work needs to be original and fixed in a tangible medium. Registration isn’t necessary for protection, but it offers certain advantages in case of infringement suits.
   • Patent: The invention must be new, non-obvious, and useful.
   • To obtain a patent, one must disclose the details of the invention in a patent application.
   • The application undergoes an examination process before the patent is granted.
5. International Protection:
   • Copyright: Many countries have mutual agreements to recognise and enforce copyright based on international treaties like the Berne Convention.
   • Patent: There’s no “international patent,” but there are processes like the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) which streamline the process of applying for patents in multiple countries. Still, a patent must be granted in each individual country to be enforced there.
6. Nature of the Document:
   • Copyright: It’s a form of protection given to the creators of “original works of authorship,” and it usually comes into existence as soon as the work is created and fixed in a tangible form.
   • Patent: It is a property right granted by the government to an inventor to exclude others from making, using, selling, and importing an invention for a limited number of years.

Conclusion

Copyright and patent are integral pillars of intellectual property protection, each serving distinct roles.

While copyright safeguards original works of authorship, ensuring creators maintain exclusive rights over their artistic and intellectual expressions, patents protect innovative inventions, granting inventors exclusivity over their novel solutions.

The distinct durations, rights, and requirements associated with each highlight the tailored mechanisms in place to encourage creativity in both artistic and scientific domains.

Recognising the differences between these protections is essential for anyone navigating the realms of creation, innovation, and intellectual property rights.

Frequently Asked Questions