A patent is authority granted to the creator of intangible property the gives them the ability to exclude others from making, or selling the IP or invention. A strong patent protection allows only the original innovator to use the innovated technology and increases innovator’s incentive. A patent can be used to protect a business process, medicine formulas, hardware, and software. A utility patents protects the rights of the creator for a term of 20 years from the time the application is filed, while a design patent generally provides protection for 14 years for the time that patent is granted. The difference being that a utility patent protects the way an article work and a design patent protects the way it looks. By getting a patent the original creator also retains the right to authorize others to produce and sell their invention. This authorization is usually granted through a sale or a partner agreement. Unauthorized use of a patented design or product in called infringement. If a patent is infringed upon the owner has the ability to sue. The plaintiff has the ability to ask the court for an injunction to stop the usage of their created IP. They may also sue for damages due to lost revenue or business from someone else producing their product.
In order to qualify for a patent one must have a creation that is a novel invention. This can be determined by performing a patent search with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. To obtain a patent the creator must submit their application less than 1 year after disclosure of the claimed invention. This disclosure can be through sale of the product, a demonstration, or even through speech on publically accessible channels. With that being said it is better to file a patent sooner rather than later. The creator can lose all rights if a competitor discovers the IP before it is patented and files for a patent claiming the IP as their own.
A copyright is a form of protection similar to that of a patent but covers a different type of product. Copyright law protects the original author of creative expressions that can be captured in a form or word, numbers, notes, sounds, picture, graphics, or any symbolic media. This means that copyrights protect things such as books, poems, musical lyrics, paintings, clothes, and computer graphic designs just to name a few. Copyright can be hard to acquire if the creative aspect is not strong enough to set it apart for a product utilitarian function. A copyright also allows limited usage of protected material under the fair use doctrine which was incorporated in the 1976 copyright act. This allows the use of copyright protected material for things such as criticism, news reporting, teaching, and research. Copyright protection terms also differ from a patent when discussing the length of time a copyright protects IP.
According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (2018): Under the 1909 Copyright Act, copyright protection begins with first publication of the work and lasts for a period of 28 years, renewable for an additional term of 28 years, for a total term of protection of 56 years. In 1976, Congress extended the renewal term to 47 years, increasing the total possible term of protection to 75 years. In 1998, Congress again extended the renewal term by an additional 20 years, for total possible term of protection of 95 years from publication. For works created by individual authors on or after January 1, 1978, copyright protection begins at the moment of creation and lasts for a period of 70 years after the author’s death. In the case of “a joint work” the term lasts for 70 years after the last surviving author’s death. For works made for hire, and for anonymous and pseudonymous works, copyright protection generally lasts for 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.
Copyright law protects creative IP when the work is created even if registrations with the copyright office has never been completed. However, it is still recommended to complete the registration. Registration provides a public record of the creation and must be completed before an infringement suit can be filed in U.S. courts and if made within 3 months of publication or prior to infringement the copyright owner is entitled to statutory damages and attorney’s fees in court action. While most countries are members or the Berne Convention or Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and/or the Universal Copyright Convention there is no absolute Copyright protection globally.