Trademark and Copyright information
What is the difference between a trademark and a copyright?
First, the terms broken out:
- Trade - The business of commerce and exchange of items or services of value or benefit.
- Mark - a symbol or word the identifies (i.e. "marks") a product or service.
A trademark is a "mark" used in the "trade" of goods or services... i.e. used in business and also non-commercial ways. For-profit as well as non-profit organizations can protect their "marks" against others offering similar trade.
A trademark exists once it is used in commerce, and you can indicate your trademark by putting the "TM" letters near it, or by stating that a word or symbol/graphic is your trade mark. Note that you are more protected if you get your trademark registered (and approved for registration/publication) with your government authority (such as the USA's US Patent and Trademark Office - USPTO).
A copyright protects the expression of ideas, such as books, software, music, and works of art (paintings, photographs, scuptures). Under USA and other law, a copyright exists from the moment the idea is expressed in some tangible form. Protecting a copyright further requires similar governmental registration (and approval) by the owner of the copyright (which may or may not be the creator of what is copywritten).
FREE
public domain trademark search:
Searching the USPTO and (some) other trademark databases in other countries is
free and online. The benefit of going to a USPTO office is that you
can see some information before it goes to the web, and also speak
to people there for free about the process.
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provide any warrantee or guarantee on the information provided here. You should contact
appropriate professionals for your needs.
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