Moonlight's Trademark, Patent or Copyright?

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Trademark, Patent or Copyright?

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A patent, trademark or copyright differ fundamentally in what they protect. They also differ in the duration of the protection, the extent of the rights which may be enforced, the manner in which the rights are acquired and the formalities which must be followed to secure those rights. Following is a brief explaination of each:

PATENTS: prohibit anyone from making, using or selling the invention described in the patent claims without the patent owner's permission.

COPYRIGHT: gives authors of original creative works of a literary or artistic nature the right to prevent others from making copies of their works.

TRADEMARKS (sometimes referred to as "service mark " or "collective mark"): brand names which identify the goods or services or origin of the goods and services by manufacturer or distributor. They prevent purchasers of goods and services from being confused about the source of the goods or services.

A trademark cannot be "patented" or "copyrighted," and a trademark is not a "patented name or "copyrighted name."

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In certain situations an article may be covered by three types of legal protection, i.e., a loaf of bread may bear on its wrapper a trademark which indicates to the public a particular bakery; a patent number, indicating that a patent has been granted on improvements in the wrapper or the composition of the bread; and the wrapper may also bear a copyright notice showing that the writings or artistic matter printed on the wrapper are protected by copyright.

The above information was retrieved from "A Guide To Starting A Business In Minnesota." More information can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402:Patents and inventions, an Information Aid for Inventors, General Information Concerning Patents, Obtaining Information from Patents, Questions and Answers About Patents, Questions and Answers About Plant Patents, Disclosure Document Program, General Information About Trademarks, Questions and Answers About Trademarks.

More Information online:

Cornell Law School "U.S. Code Collection"

Artist's Rights Society "Copyright Basics"

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