Quote:
Originally Posted by mbauer
Copyrights= printable media (includes anything that can be put on a cd/paper/dvd) "copy" says it all. Can it be copied-the designer/author has rights.
Patents = mechanical ideas/devices that is why you have to submit a working device for patent. The drawn plans/printed descriptions for patents fall under copyright laws.
Trademarks are totally different-can be a logo, shape, name, phrase, almost anything unique to the designer that the designer wants to protect from others using it.
Mike
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You're actually a little restrictive, Mike. For example, you could not get a patent for a simple metal drawer pull -- but if its shape were distinctive enough, you could claim a copyright for your original design. As you say, if it can be copied, copyright can apply, even if the copies consist of metal, concrete, or other materials.
Trademark law may be even more complicated than copyright law, because trademarks pertain to a kind of product, not just to the owners. For example, Companies A, B, and C could each own the trademark "Inspiration," if A made plumbing fixtures, B made optical products, and C made computers. And an important rule is that you must always use your trademarks as adjectives -- you may not say, "Buy an Inspiration today," you must say instead, "Buy an Inspiration computer today." Terms such as "escalator" and "cellophane" lost their original trademark status because the owners were not careful about this usage. Then there's the distinction between simple trademarks and registered trademarks -- as mentioned, the whole subject is very complicated. Fortunately, the only members of this forum who need to be concerned are those who trademark their lines of commercial models.