What is the difference between a patent and a trademark?

14th Nov 2009 by Tobias John Sterling

Patents and trademarks both fall under the heading of 'intellectual property law', in that they both seek to protect ownership of things that are intangible (that is, non-physical 'products of the mind'), but they differ in some significant ways. Patents are for protecting inventions. The process is that the inventor discloses their invention to a government body (a patent office) in a written application for a patent. That government body reviews the invention and makes a decision about whether the invention meets certain legal requirements, for example that it is novel and useful. If the application is successful, the patent allows the patent holder to prevent other from doing things like making, using, or selling the patented invention for a certain amount of time (usually 20 years from the filing date). A trademark, by contrast, is a sign or indicator (it could be a name, a phrase, a symbol, an image, a design, a word, or even a combination of these elements) used to distinguish one entities product or services from those of another entity. Registering a trademark (at a trademarks office) is a way of preventing others from using the same sign or indicator, but even without registering a trademark you can have a 'common law' trademark that still gives you the right to file a lawsuit if someone else uses your sign or indicator. Trademark rights persist for as long as you lawfully use the trademark, but will expire if the trademark is not used for a period of time, often 5 years.

This answer is the subjective opinion of the writer and not of FinancialAdvisory.com