Patent & Copyright Information

Patents and copyrights are often confused for each other. Though they share several similarities, they are different types of intellectual property protection.

Patents

• A patent is a property right granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to a person who has invented a new product. As of 2010, three types of patents are granted by the USPTO, and each is good for 20 years after the date it was filed.

Types

• The three types of patents granted by the USPTO are utility patents, design patents and plant patents. Utility patents are given to people who discover or invent a useful process or product or improve upon a previously patented product. Design patents are granted to anyone who invents a new, original ornamental design, and a plant patent is given to people who invent or discover and asexually reproduces a new variety of plant.

Copyrights

• A copyright is granted to authors of original works, including literary, musical, dramatic and artistic. The Copyright Act of 1976 gives holders of copyrights exclusive authority to reproduce, perform or prepare derivatives of the copyrighted material.