A patent is a limited duration property right relating to an invention, granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office in exchange for public disclosure of the invention. Generally, the term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. (From USTPO)
1) Utility patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof -- example: power tools
2) Design patents may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture -- example: cookie cutter shapes
3) Plant patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant -- example: hybrid rose
Multi-Step Search Strategy - Outlines a suggested procedure for patent searching.
A trademark is a brand name. A trademark or service mark includes any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used or intended to be used to identify and distinguish the goods/services of one seller or provider from those of others, and to indicate the source of the goods/services.
Copyright is a form of protection provided for original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical, graphic and audiovisual creations. "Copyright" literally means the right to copy, but has come to mean that body of exclusive rights granted by law to copyright owners for protection of their work.
Copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner.
View the Arnold Bernhard Library Copyright Research Guide at http://http://libraryguides.quinnipiac.edu/copyright
No! Trademarks, copyrights, and patents protect different types of intellectual property.
For example, if you invent a new kind of vacuum cleaner, you would apply for a patent to protect the invention itself. You would apply to register a trademark to protect the brand name of the vacuum cleaner. And you might register a copyright for the TV commercial that you use to market the product.