Anyone who knows something about trademarks should know that it is not only registered trademarks that protect a product in the market, but also copyrights and patents, which are important basis for protecting products. However, the relationship between trademarks, patents, and copyrights will be discussed below.
There are 45 categories of trademarks in total. Among these 45 categories, goods and services each occupy some categories. If an enterprise wants to comprehensively protect its trademarks, the most direct way is to register all categories, but all categories The cost of registering a trademark is too high, and generally it may not be suitable for some start-up businesses. However, if you do not apply for all categories, others can use the exact same trademark in other categories.
Copyright has nothing to do with the product that carries the work. Copyright protection can be obtained without registration. Therefore, the cost of using copyright to protect a certain design is relatively low. But at the same time, the limitations of copyright are also obvious. First, simple text cannot constitute a work in the sense of copyright law, and simple graphics cannot be protected by copyright.
When a copyright is infringed, the rights holder must provide evidence that he is the copyright owner and enjoys the copyright. If it is difficult for the copyright owner to prove that he is the creator of the work or the successor of the rights, it will cause great difficulties for the rights holder to claim his rights. The copyright registration system is set up to solve these problems. If the right holder registers the copyright after completing the creation of the work, he only needs to show the certificate issued by the registration center when presenting evidence, and it will generally be recognized by the court or relevant authorities.
Trademarks and patents are intellectual property rights in the traditional sense. They are both territorial and strictly territorial. Domestic trademarks and patents have no validity abroad and need to be re-applied. In addition, both are time-sensitive. The difference is that trademarks can be extended indefinitely, while patents become free technology for society after expiration.
In addition to label products, it is also necessary to apply for trademarks and patents at the same time for product designs with relatively complex designs and trademark patterns that account for a large proportion of the product appearance, thereby maximizing the intensity and scope of protection.
The legal basis for trademark rights and design patent rights are different. The protection periods of the two rights are different. Trademark rights can be obtained by applying for renewal. In theory, trademark rights can be renewed indefinitely, while design patent rights have different protection periods. Design patent rights have a time limit. If the term of protection of a design patent right exceeds, the design may be registered as a trademark by someone other than the patentee.