Trademarks v. Copyrights: What's the Difference?
A trademark is a word, phrase, image, logo, sound or any combination thereof that indicates the origin of a "good," such as a consumer product. A service mark functions exactly like a trademark, except that it identifies the origin of a service rather than a good (think Jiffy Lube® or Roto-Rooter®). The purpose of a trademark or service mark is to identify for the buying audience the source of a purchased good or service, and to indicate a certain level of quality or service that can be expected when purchasing from that source. In other words, you'll expect a different experience when shopping at Target® than you would when shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue®. Trademarks can be registered at both the state and federal levels, but the most commonly recognized registration is the federal registration, accompanied by the familiar ® designation. Trademarks are not the same as corporate or business names. While a corporate name can also function as a trademark, it won't automatically qualify as a trademark unless it clearly identifies a good or service sold by that company.
The term "copyright" actually refers to a set, or bundle, of rights that a creator has in an original creative work fixed in some tangible form of expression, such as a painting, a book or computer software. These rights include the right to duplicate the work, display the work, sell or license the work, or create another work based upon the work. The owner of copyright in a work can transfer any or all of these rights to another party. Contrary to popular perception, an idea is never protectable by copyright law until it is fixed in a tangible form. Copyright in a work exists from the moment the work is created and does not require registration in the Library of Congress Copyright Office, although failure to register can deprive a copyright owner of valuable rights to collect damages in the event of an infringement. It's also important to put proper notice on any original works subject to copyright protection. The proper form of copyright notice is either: Copyright 2002 Jane Smith Productions or © 2002 Jane Smith Productions.
Copyright Sharon L. Toerek 2002-2008. This article was originally published in Portfolio Magazine, the monthly Journal of the Cleveland Advertising Association.
