One document may contain patent, trademark and copyright protection for different reasons.
1 Are You Required to Put TM Next to a Pending Trademark?
2 "Differences Between a Copyright, Trademark & Registration"
Intellectual property is “imagination made real,” according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Your intellectual property is a business asset and warrants protection from unauthorized use. Three ways to protect your intellectual property are patents, trademarks and copyrights. Each intellectual property type is distinct, and the form of protection depends on the form of your content.
A patent is intellectual property protection for an invention. There are three types of patents according to the Patent Office: utility, design and plant. A utility patent protects the functional aspects of an invention, such as a new machine. A design patent protects the ornamental appearance of an invention, such as the color and shape of a new machine. A plant patent protects the inventor of a new method to asexually reproduce a new variety of plant. The most common business patents are utility and design.
A patent application must be filed with the Patent Office and, if approved, generally lasts for 20 years from the file date. Once filed, the Patent Office will inform you if provisional status has been granted that allows you to use “patent pending” in public documentation. Later, if approved, you will be assigned a specific patent number to replace "patent pending."
A trademark is intellectual property protection for a single word, phrase, symbol, sound or colors that distinguish one company, product or service from another. For example, the name of your company, tagline, product name and color scheme can all be protected by a trademark. A non-registered trademark is one identified by first use in commerce and represented by “TM” in superscript. A registered trademark is represented by an “R” within a circle in superscript and can only be used after an approved filing with the Patent Office. A registered trademark includes several benefits over a non-registered one, including federal legal standing of ownership and a basis to obtain international registration. Registered trademarks can be renewed indefinitely.
Trademarks usually focus on your specific industry rather than general protection. For instance, if you own a sports equipment company and your logo uses purple and orange, you may qualify for registered trademark protection within the sports equipment industry, but a printing company may also use those colors prominently in their logo without infringement.
A copyright is intellectual property protection for a published or non-published original work of authorship in a tangible format. For example, a painting, music, poem, novel and -- in business -- brochure copy, website content and user guide instructions. A copyright is represented by a “c” within a circle and protects the holder from unauthorized use, copying and resale of content. It may be non-registered or registered. Your original work of authorship is automatically protected once you present it in tangible form, such as uploading new content to your website or distributing a printed product brochure. Registration offers the benefit of legal standing if you wish to sue another party for infringement. Copyright registration is done through the U.S. Copyright Office.
You are not required to formally register a patent, trademark or copyright, but doing so provides you with added legal protection. Depending on the nature of your business, you may never face a patent need, but you almost certainly will have trademark and copyright intellectual property; you can choose to register either, neither or both.
For example, if you own a carpet cleaning business, your brochure might include a non-registered trademark next to your business name, a registered trademark next to your Patent Office-approved and registered carpet cleaning machine name, the words “patent pending” under a diagram of your new machine and a copyright notice at the end of your brochure protecting all of your original copy within it.
FindLaw; Patent, Trademark, and Trade Secret; Mark F. Radcliffe, et al.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: What Is Intellectual Property?
Amie Martin has more than 20 years of publishing experience in proofreading, editing, writing, design and layout. She writes for various websites, specializing in branding, marketing and technical communications. Martin has an Associate of Applied Science in merchandising from Bay State College and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
Martin, Amie. "Patent Pending vs. Registered Trademark vs. Copyright." Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/patent-pending-vs-registered-trademark-vs-copyright-24236.html. Accessed 18 April 2019.
"Intellectual Property, Trademark, Copyright & Patent Law"