Trademarks and patents are both categories of intellectual property rights, and trademarks are not patents. A trademark is a distinctive sign that identifies a certain product, service, or a specific person or enterprise related to it. It can be a graphic or text, or it can be represented by a sound, a smell, or a three-dimensional image. Patent literally refers to exclusive rights and interests, that is, a patented invention can generally be implemented by others only with the permission of the patentee.