Many people think that patent and copyright are the same thing. In fact, the difference between them is the same as, for example, between a motorcycle and a helicopter. They not only have different sets of properties, but also have different purposes.
Instructions
Step 1
Copyright protects only the work itself, but not the ideas expressed in it. The embodiment of these ideas in practice, the use of the work is not considered at all - this is stated directly in the legislation. Where to go to someone who wants to defend an idea?
Step 2
The answer is simple - to patent. But this is not so easy to do. If copyright arises automatically at the time of creation of a work, then in order to obtain a patent it is necessary to observe a lot of formalities and spend a lot of money. If you stop paying the fee, the patent is terminated early. But even if it is introduced regularly, it will last no more than 20 years. Compared to copyright, which lasts the entire life of the author and 70 years after his death, this is very little - but after all, inventions become obsolete much faster than works.
Step 3
While the patent is valid, it is impossible to implement similar ideas without the permission of the copyright holder, even if another person has thought of the same idea independently. By comparison, if you independently (really independently!) Come up with an idea already outlined in another copyrighted work, there is no violation.
Step 4
The patent implies a lack of secrecy. Anyone has the right to get acquainted with it. And during the period of validity, and after its termination. Always. No wonder it got its name from the French word patere - to open. If an inventor decides to classify an invention, he has no right to patent it. It will not be protected by a patent, but a trade secret. And then, if someone comes up with the same idea independently, the inventor will not be able to sue him.
Step 5
In many countries, including Russia, the use of a patented invention for non-commercial purposes is allowed without restrictions, even if the patent is still valid. It also distinguishes patent law from copyright law.
Step 6
The patenting mechanism has a number of positive qualities. But, like everything good in this world, it often becomes an object of abuse. There are a number of organizations - the so-called patent trolls - that patent very obvious, albeit new ideas, and then cash in on such dummy inventions. The harm from patent trolls is not just the damage they inflict primarily on small businesses. After all, they, in fact, by their actions discredit the very idea of patenting.
Step 7
In addition to invention patents, there are also utility model and design patents. The first one is valid for 10 years, the second - 15. The validity of the first of them can be extended once for another three years, and the second - for ten.
