trademark, copyright, patent, or design? choosing the right protection

"Intellectual property" is an umbrella term covering several distinct rights. Each protects something different, and many businesses need more than one. Confusing them is a common — and costly — mistake.

Trademark

Protects brand identifiers — names, logos, slogans — that distinguish your goods or services. It is what stops competitors from using a confusingly similar name. Renewable every ten years, potentially forever.

Copyright

Protects original creative works — writing, art, music, software code, photographs. It arises automatically on creation, though registration provides useful evidence. It protects the expression, not the underlying idea.

Patent

Protects inventions — new, useful, and non-obvious products or processes. A patent gives a time-limited monopoly (generally up to 20 years) in exchange for publicly disclosing how the invention works. Patents are technical and demand specialist drafting.

Design

Protects the visual appearance of a product — its shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation. Think of the distinctive look of a bottle or a chair, as opposed to how it functions.

Which do you need?

• Your brand name and logo → trademark.
• Your website copy, designs, code → copyright.
• A novel invention or process → patent.
• The unique look of a product → design.