DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COPYRIGHT AND PATENT

INTRODUCTION

Intellectual property rights (IPR) offer limited rights to the owners or creators of that property to permit them to secure beneficial welfare from their struggles. There are numerous categories of intellectual property safeguard such as patent, copyright, trademark, etc.

What is Copyright?

Copyright is a collection of rights automatically vested to the creator once he has created an original work. The rights provided by the copyright of work include the right to reproduce the work, prepare derivative works, distribute copies, perform the work publicly, and to display the work publicly.

As the copyright owner, one has the authority to keep each right, to transfer them individually or collectively to one or more people. This can be done through licensing, assigning, and other forms of transfers. The power of copyright allows one to choose the way one’s work is made available to the public.

What’s a Patent?

A patent protects inventions. The primary aim of the patent law is to encourage innovation and to commercialize technological advances. Patent law has been incentivizing inventors to publicly disclose their inventions in exchange for certain exclusive rights. The inventions that can be protected by a patent can include new and useful processes, machines, manufactures, compositions of matter as well as improvements to these. Often computer programs may fall within the subject matter protected by both parents as well as copyrights. In this aspect, the patent system compliments copyright protection. It provides protection for the functional aspects of the software, which are not provided protection by copyright. 

ASPECTS 

Copyright 

Copyright protection in India can be sought by creative professionals like authors, artists, choreographers, architects, and others. Even though an idea cannot be copyrighted, the tangible form of an idea can always be copyrighted. This can include original works of authorship such as books, photographs, sculptures, choreography, architectural works, sound recordings, motion pictures, and other creative works. 

Copyright over a work provides the creator or author with legal evidence and public notice of ownership. A person can be sued in court for infringement of copyright provided the author has the papers in place. A copyright is valid for a lifetime. 

Patent 

Usually, Inventors and Designers file for patents. A patent safeguards inventions with new or improved functionality such as machines, processes, or chemical compositions, or even the design for some product. 

A patent provides the owner an exclusive right to prevent others from making, using, selling, or importing the specifically protected invention. It protects the invention for 20 years but is not renewable in nature. A provisional patent lasts for about a year.

COMPARISON

While a patent, apart from design, on the one hand, safeguards discoveries of new procedures, copyright protects issued and unpublished, original works, such as works of literature, song, fine, art, structural design, software etc. Just like a patent owner, the copyright owner has limited rights, such as rights to make a replica, make an end product, allot copies, exhibit the work in public, or implement the work in public.

In certain circumstances, a claimant can acquire both a copyright and a patent, and it can happen between a design patent and copyright in conditions where the patterned design succeeds both for a patent and copyright.

The comparison between Copyright and Patent can be studied based on the following parameters:

1. Copyright is Governed Under The Copyright Act, 1957, whereas Patents are Governed under The Patents Act, 1970

2. Copyright offers protection to original works of authorship, like books, articles, songs, photographs, sculptures, choreography, sound recordings, motion pictures, and others, whereas Patent protects Inventions, such as processes, machines, compositions of matter and its improvements, etc.

3. The requirement for a work to be protected under the Copyright Act is that the work must be original, creative, and fixed in a tangible medium. On the other hand, the requirement for a valid patent is that the invention must be new, useful, and nonobvious

4. Copyright Protection is valid for the lifetime of the author + 60 years after his/her death. The Validity of a Patent is for 20 years, starting from the day the application is first made. Since it is a territorial right, it is effective only within the territory of India. Separate patents are required to be filed for each country where protection is required.

5. Copyright secures Creative or intellectual creations, whereas Patent secures inventions that are useful for the world and have some use.

6. Copyright grants the right to control the reproduction, making of derivative works, distribution, and public performance and display of the copyrighted works. Patent grants the right to prevent others from making, selling, using, or importing the patented invention

7. No provisional application is required in case of a Copyright Application. However, for a Patent application, a provisional application gets the patentee 12 months of time to file a complete specification and a priority date claim.

Key Points on Copyright and Patent:

1. Copyright serves authors, and patents focus on inventors.

2. Copyright is applicable to art, music, and photography. Comparatively, patents are applied to technologies and medical devices.

3. Copyright registration renders the time limit from the lifetime of the author plus  60 years after his/her death. On the contrary, the patent lasts for 20 years.

CONCLUSION

It depends on the product and invention, whether it is patentable or should it receive copyright. One has to distinguish between the two and then initiate a patent registration or a copyright registration depending upon the product.

Indian has several alterations in its Intellectual Property Laws to upturn proficiency and has expurgated the phrase required to issue patents. The philosophy of invention is occupying the middle stage in the country. Even though the government is struggling to support national IPR rule, the IP appellate court, e-governance, and the adherence to the TRIPS contract of WTO will support in refining the perception of India universally. 

A justifiable intellectual property scheme can not only help nations to apprehend intellectual property perspective as a facilitator for financial development and also ensure public and ethnic well-being. Recently, an increase is witnessed in the awareness of intellectual property laws among people.

BY SHRIJA VERMA