Your business name and logo are protected by trademark law, your website copy and photos by copyright, and a new product design or invention by a patent. In a trademark vs copyright comparison, a trademark covers the words and symbols that tell customers who sells something, and a copyright covers the creative work itself. A patent covers how a product works or how it looks.
Trademark vs. Copyright vs. Patent: Quick Comparison
| Trademark | Copyright | Patent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it protects | Names, logos, slogans, and other signs that identify who sells goods or services | Original creative works: text, photos, art, music, video, software code | Inventions (utility patent) and the ornamental design of a product (design patent) |
| Business examples | Your business name, product name, logo, tagline | Your website copy, blog posts, product photos, logo artwork, course videos | A new kitchen gadget mechanism, a new chemical formula, the shape of a bottle |
| When rights start | When you use the mark in commerce | The moment the work is created and fixed in a tangible form | Only when the USPTO grants the patent |
| Who registers it | USPTO | U.S. Copyright Office | USPTO |
| Government filing fee | $350 per class for the base federal application | $45 to $125 per basic claim | Several USPTO fees that vary by patent type |
| How long it lasts | As long as you use it and file maintenance documents on time | Author’s life plus 70 years for most individual works | Utility: 20 years from filing. Design: 15 years from grant |
| Registration required? | No, but federal registration adds nationwide rights | No, but you must register before suing over a US work | Yes, there are no rights without a granted patent |
What a Trademark Protects
A trademark is a word, phrase, design, or combination that identifies the source of your goods or services. The USPTO’s own example is Coca-Cola for soft drinks. A mark has to tell buyers that the product comes from you, and a plain word can do that as well as a clever one.
Trademark rights come from use: once you sell under a name, you have some rights in the area where you trade, even with no filing. A federal registration with the USPTO extends those rights across the country and lets you use the ® symbol. The difference between those two levels of protection is covered in the guide to TM vs. registered trademarks and common law rights.
A trademark registration can last indefinitely if you keep using the mark and file a declaration of use between the fifth and sixth year after registration, then a combined declaration and renewal every 10 years.
A trademark stops a competitor from using a confusingly similar name or logo on related goods or services. It gives you no rights in the product itself, so a trademark on your candle brand does not stop anyone from making the same candle under a different name.
What a Copyright Protects
A copyright protects original works of authorship: writing, photographs, illustrations, music, video, and software code. The Copyright Office’s example is the lyrics to a song from “Frozen.” For a small business, that means your website text, blog posts, product photos, packaging artwork, and any course or video content.
Copyright exists from the moment the work is created and fixed in a tangible form, such as a saved file or a printed page. Registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is voluntary, with one large exception: under 17 U.S.C. 411(a), you cannot file an infringement lawsuit over a US work until the Copyright Office registers it. Registered works may also qualify for statutory damages and attorney’s fees in court.
Copyright Duration and Registration Fees
For most works created by an individual on or after January 1, 1978, copyright lasts for the author’s life plus 70 years. Works made for hire, such as content your employees create on the job, last 95 years from first publication or 120 years from creation, whichever ends first.
| Copyright Office filing | Fee |
|---|---|
| Single Application (one author, one work, not made for hire, filed online) | $45 |
| Standard Application (filed online) | $65 |
| Paper application | $125 |
Content made for hire or by more than one author goes on the Standard Application.
What Copyright Does Not Cover
Copyright does not protect names, titles, short phrases, or slogans. The Copyright Office’s Circular 33 lists business names, product names, domain names, catchphrases, and mottos among the things it will not register, even when the phrase is original or clever. The Office also refuses typefaces and simple arrangements of common shapes.
Copyright also does not protect ideas, methods, or systems. If you write a book about a new way to process food, the copyright covers your text and illustrations, and anyone can still use the method.
What a Patent Protects
A patent protects an invention (a utility patent) or a product design (a design patent). Unlike trademarks and copyrights, a patent gives you no rights until the USPTO examines and grants the application.
| Patent type | What it covers | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Utility patent | A new and useful process, machine, manufactured item, or composition of matter, or an improvement on one | 20 years from the filing date |
| Design patent | A new, original, and ornamental design for a manufactured item | 15 years from the grant date (for applications filed on or after May 13, 2015) |
A patent stops others from making, using, or selling the invention without your permission for the length of the term. After it expires, anyone can use the invention.
If you publicly show, sell, or describe your invention before you file, US law gives you one year from that disclosure to file your own application.
Trademark vs. Patent: The Core Difference
A trademark protects the name on the product, and a patent protects the product. On a new reusable water bottle, a utility patent could cover a new valve mechanism in the lid, a design patent could cover the bottle’s distinctive shape, and a trademark covers the brand name printed on the side.
A brand name can outlive every patent on the product it sells, because a trademark lasts as long as you keep using it and keep up the filings.
Which One Covers Your Business Name, Logo, Product, or Content
| What you want to protect | Protection that fits |
|---|---|
| Business name | Trademark |
| Product or service name | Trademark |
| Slogan or tagline | Trademark |
| Logo | Trademark, and copyright for the artwork if it has enough original design |
| Website copy, blog posts, newsletters | Copyright |
| Product photos and videos | Copyright |
| Online course or ebook | Copyright for the content; trademark for the course or series name |
| Software code | Copyright |
| A new product that works in a new way | Utility patent |
| The unique look of a product | Design patent |
| Recipe | Copyright covers only a creative written description or photos, not the ingredient list or the dish |
Should You Trademark or Copyright a Business Name?
Trademark it. The Copyright Office will not register a business name, so trademark law is the only federal protection a name can get. The steps to file are in the guide on how to trademark a business name.
Should You Trademark or Copyright a Logo?
Trademark it first if the goal is to stop competitors from using a similar logo. A trademark registration protects the logo as a sign of your brand for the goods or services you list. A copyright protects the logo as a piece of art and stops people from copying the artwork, but it does not stop a competitor from using a different design that customers would confuse with yours.
A logo made only of your business name in a standard or slightly styled font usually cannot be copyrighted at all. A logo with an original illustration can be. The guide on how to trademark a logo covers whether to file the logo together with your name or separately.
Can One Thing Have More Than One Type of Protection?
Yes. A logo can have both copyright and trademark protection at the same time. The copyright covers the drawing as a creative work, and the trademark covers its use as a brand. You can register each one with its own office.
A single product can carry all three: the water bottle from the patent comparison could have a utility patent on the lid, a design patent on the shape, a trademark on the name, and a copyright on the artwork on the label and the photos in the online store.
Who Owns the Copyright in Your Logo
If a freelance designer made your logo, the designer usually owns the copyright unless you have a signed written agreement that transfers it to you. A transfer of copyright ownership is not valid without a signed writing under 17 U.S.C. 204(a). A logo is not one of the types of commissioned work that the law lets a contract call a “work made for hire,” so the agreement needs to be an assignment. Work that your own employees create on the job belongs to the business.
Get a signed assignment from the designer before you file a trademark application or build your brand around the logo.
Who to Hire for Each
A trademark attorney handles trademark searches, applications, and disputes. Under 37 C.F.R. 11.14, any attorney in good standing with a US state bar can represent you before the USPTO in trademark matters, with no extra USPTO license.
Patent work needs a registered patent practitioner. To file and argue patent applications at the USPTO, a patent attorney or patent agent has to pass the USPTO’s registration exam and show scientific and technical qualifications. The guide on what a trademark attorney does explains how the two roles differ.
Copyright registration is simple enough that many business owners file it themselves through the Copyright Office’s online system. For copyright disputes, licenses, and designer assignments, many trademark attorneys also handle copyright work, so the attorney who files your brand name can often cover both.
If your business has a name to protect and a new invention, you will usually need two people: a trademark attorney for the brand and a registered patent practitioner for the invention. When you are ready for the brand side, you can find a trademark attorney in the directory.