The distinction between patents, copyrights and trademarks can be confusing. A patent grants the inventor the exclusive right to a new idea, method or process. Copyright grants authors, musicians and artists the exclusive right to publish and sell literary, musical or artistic works. Copyright covers art, drama, music, literature and other academic works-both published and unpublished. A trademark is a word, phrase, slogan, design or symbol, which is used to identify goods and distinguish them from competitive products. A trademark indicates the source of the product (i.e. brand name).
Trademarks are the first way for businessmen to identify their goods and services. Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and China people use these marks to identify the manufacturer of products, so that the buyer can know the technology of the goods or services he or she buys.
One of the earliest trademark laws was the Baker's Marking Law, which was passed in England on 1266 during the reign of Henry III. Baker's marking method requires bakers to mark their works with needles or stamps. Nearly a century later, in 1363, silversmiths were also asked to mark their products. Soon, bottle makers and porcelain manufacturers will also be obliged to mark their products.
Nearly four centuries after the Banker's Mark Act was promulgated, the first batch of trademark infringement cases appeared in English courts. Trademark infringement refers to the act of others infringing the trademark of the trademark holder. In caseNo. 16 18, a company producing low-quality fabrics tried to pass off their products as those of their high-quality competitors in the market by using their logos.