How are trademarks, copyrights and patents different?
A trademark is different from a copyright or a patent or geographical indication. A copyright protects an original artistic or literary work; a patent protects an invention whereas a geographical indication is used to identify goods having special characteristics originating from a definite territory. Patents protect new inventions, discoveries and designs, while copyrights protect original works of authorship such as paintings, computer programs, sculpture and architectural designs. Trademarks do not protect creation or inventiveness at all. In fact, a trademarks can be acquired with no creative or innovative input from the owner whatsoever. For instance, when the public spontaneously began referring to “Coca Cola” as “Coke,” the new term became a source identifier for the product, and thus automatically a trademark.
