The Difference Between Copyright and Patent - Paladria

The Difference Between Copyright and Patent

The Difference Between Copyright and Patent

Are you the type of person to follow a recipe exactly as is, or do you usually take some creative liberties? Once you have followed the recipe, have you ever stopped to think, is this now my pie? Or the one who wrote the recipe? Have you ever been afraid of your work being stolen?

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Copyright vs Patent

If you are an artist creator of any kind, this is information that you need to know. There are a few key differences, and when trying to figure out what the differences are, there’s a lot of information to sift through. Let us simplify that information for you. First of all, it is important to note that there is in fact a difference between the two depending on the type of creation you are referring to. The main difference between copyright and patent is that one protects the expression of an idea, while the other protects the idea itself. Confusing? Let’s simplify.

Copyright

A copyright essentially protects the original work, and authorship. Therefore, it protects the idea, but not the expression of the idea. With that in mind and bringing back our cookbook analogy, if you have a recipe for a pie, the fact that you came up with the pie and wrote the recipe is protected, but the replication of this pie is not protected. People can still create the recipe, but the original is copyrighted as yours. Should someone try to claim it is theirs, and make money from it, that is when the copyright infringement comes in. A novel, a song, or a painting is automatically protected if it is your original work, for example. Copyright protection is automatically granted to artists and can last an entire lifetime.

copyright vs patent

Patent

A patent is a formal procedure and is not granted automatically. Have you ever seen a little sign that says, “patent pending”? This is usually to protect an invention. It means no one can recreate this idea because it is yours. It can be expensive to file, and patents last for about 15-20 years. This means that whatever you have invented cannot be replicated in any way, shape, or form. It protects functional and decorative aspects of your idea.

In conclusion, you can come up with something and it is automatically yours, but how you make it so that others can’t recreate will be different depending on your needs. If you have any further questions in translating copyrighted material, contact us for more information.

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