Patent vs. Trademark — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Urooj Arif — Updated on April 20, 2024
Patents protect inventions and their functionalities, while trademarks safeguard brand identifiers like logos and slogans.
Difference Between Patent and Trademark
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
A patent is a legal right granted to an inventor to exclude others from making, using, or selling their invention for a specific period, typically 20 years. Trademarks, on the other hand, protect words, phrases, symbols, or designs that distinguish the source of goods or services indefinitely as long as they are in use.
Patents require a detailed public disclosure of an invention, demonstrating its novelty and non-obviousness. Whereas trademarks do not require such disclosure; they simply need to be distinctive and used in commerce to identify the source of a product or service.
The protection provided by a patent covers the functional aspects of an invention, meaning it prevents others from using the invention's technology. Conversely, a trademark protects branding elements that help consumers identify and differentiate between products or services.
Applying for a patent involves a rigorous examination process that assesses the invention’s uniqueness and industrial applicability. Trademarks, however, may be registered more straightforwardly if they are distinctive and not confusingly similar to existing marks.
Once granted, patents have a limited term of protection, after which the patented technology enters the public domain. Trademarks, however, can potentially last indefinitely, provided they are continuously used and proper renewal fees are paid.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Legal right for an invention.
Legal protection for brand identifiers.
Protection Focus
Functional aspects of an invention.
Branding elements like logos and slogans.
Term
Typically 20 years.
Indefinite, as long as it is in use.
Disclosure Required
Yes, detailed public disclosure.
No, but must be distinctive and in use.
Application Process
Rigorous, with examination of novelty.
Simpler, focused on distinctiveness.
Compare with Definitions
Patent
Legal protection granted to an inventor.
She obtained a patent for her new solar panel design.
Trademark
Can be renewed indefinitely.
They have renewed their trademark for another ten years.
Patent
Has a fixed term, usually 20 years.
After 20 years, the patent will expire and the invention will enter the public domain.
Trademark
Does not require a detailed public disclosure.
The trademark was registered based on its unique design and use.
Patent
Requires a detailed public disclosure to be granted.
The patent application included detailed diagrams of the invention.
Trademark
Legal protection for brand identifiers like logos and slogans.
Their trademark logo is recognized worldwide.
Patent
Excludes others from making, using, or selling the invention.
His patent on the software prevents others from using its unique algorithm.
Trademark
Used to distinguish the goods or services of one entity from others.
The trademark ensures customers recognize the brand.
Patent
Protects the functionality of an invention.
The patent covers the method the machine uses to process materials.
Trademark
Protects elements that identify the source of a product.
The trademarked slogan is integral to the brand’s identity.
Patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of years, in exchange for publishing an enabling public disclosure of the invention. In most countries, patent rights fall under private law and the patent holder must sue someone infringing the patent in order to enforce his or her rights.
Trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression which identifies products or services of a particular source from those of others, although trademarks used to identify services are usually called service marks. The trademark owner can be an individual, business organization, or any legal entity.
Patent
A government authority or licence conferring a right or title for a set period, especially the sole right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention
He took out a patent for an improved steam hammer
Trademark
A symbol, word, or words legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product.
Patent
Patent leather
Designs in a wide range of textures featuring super-chic patent, soft suede, or sophisticated nappa
He wore black trousers and black patent shoes
Trademark
Provide with a trademark
They are counterfeiting trademarked goods
Patent
Easily recognizable; obvious
She was smiling with patent insincerity
Trademark
Abbr. TM A name, symbol, or other device used to identify and promote a product or service, especially an officially registered name or symbol that is thereby protected against use by others.
Patent
(of a vessel, duct, or aperture) open and unobstructed; failing to close
The patient is usually left with a patent vessel
Trademark
A distinctive characteristic by which a person or thing comes to be known
The snicker that became the comedian's trademark.
Patent
Made and marketed under a patent; proprietary
Patent milk powder
Trademark
To label (a product) with proprietary identification.
Patent
Obtain a patent for (an invention)
An invention is not your own until it is patented
Trademark
To register (something) as a trademark.
Patent
A grant made by a government that confers upon the creator of an invention the sole right to make, use, and sell that invention for a set period of time.
Trademark
A word, symbol, or phrase used to identify a particular company's product and differentiate it from other companies' products.
Patent
Letters patent.
Trademark
Any proprietary business, product or service name.
Patent
An invention protected by such a grant.
Trademark
The aspect for which someone or something is best known; a hallmark or typical characteristic.
Patent
A grant of publicly owned land, particularly to a homesteader.
Trademark
(proscribed) To register something as a trademark.
Patent
The official document of such a grant.
Trademark
(proscribed) To so label a product.
Patent
The land so granted.
Trademark
(informal) Distinctive, characteristic, signature.
Patent
An exclusive right or title.
Trademark
A distinctive characteristic or attribute
Patent
Protected or conferred by a patent or letters patent
A patent right.
Trademark
A formally registered symbol identifying the manufacturer or distributor of a product
Patent
Of, relating to, or dealing in patents
Patent law.
Patent
(also pātnt) Obvious; plain
A patent injustice.
Patent
Not blocked; open
A patent duct.
Patent
Spreading open; expanded
Patent sepals.
Patent
Relating to or being a nonprescription drug or other medical preparation that is protected by a trademark.
Patent
Of high quality. Used of flour.
Patent
To obtain a patent on or for (an invention, for example).
Patent
To invent, originate, or be the proprietor of (an idea, for example).
Patent
To grant a patent to or for.
Patent
(law)
Patent
An official document granting an appointment, privilege, or right, or some property or title; letters patent.
Patent
(specifically)
Patent
A specific grant of ownership of a piece of real property; a land patent.
Patent
(by extension) A product in respect of which a patent (sense 1.2.2) has been obtained.
Patent
(uncountable) shoes]]
Patent
(figuratively)
Patent
A licence or (formal) permission to do something.
Patent
A characteristic or quality that one possesses; in particular (hyperbolic) as if exclusively; a monopoly.
Patent
(gambling) The combination of seven bets on three selections, offering a return even if only one bet comes in.
Patent
To (successfully) register (a new invention) with a government agency to obtain the sole privilege of its manufacture, sale, and use for a specified period.
Patent
To obtain (over a piece of real property) a specific grant of ownership.
Patent
To be closely associated or identified with (something); to monopolize.
Patent
Conspicuous; open; unconcealed.
Patent
(baking) Of flour: fine, and consisting mostly of the inner part of the endosperm of the grain from which it is milled.
Patent
(medicine) Open, unobstructed; specifically, especially of the ductus arteriosus or foramen ovale in the heart, having not closed as would have happened in normal development.
She has a patent ductus arteriosus that will require surgery to close.
Patent
Of an infection: in the phase when the organism causing it can be detected by clinical tests.
Patent
Explicit and obvious.
Those claims are patent nonsense.
Patent
(archaic)
Patent
Especially of a document conferring some privilege or right: open to public perusal or use.
Letters patent
Patent
Appointed or conferred by letters patent.
Patent
(botany) Of a branch, leaf, etc.: outspread; also, spreading at right angles to the axis.
Patent
(law) Protected by a legal patent.
A patent right
Patent medicines
Patent
To which someone has, or seems to have, a claim or an exclusive claim; also, inventive or particularly suited for.
Patent
Open; expanded; evident; apparent; unconcealed; manifest; public; conspicuous.
He had received instructions, both patent and secret.
Patent
Open to public perusal; - said of a document conferring some right or privilege; as, letters patent. See Letters patent, under 3d Letter.
Patent
Appropriated or protected by letters patent; secured by official authority to the exclusive possession, control, and disposal of some person or party; patented; as, a patent right; patent medicines.
Madder . . . in King Charles the First's time, was made a patent commodity.
Patent
Spreading; forming a nearly right angle with the steam or branch; as, a patent leaf.
Patent
A letter patent, or letters patent; an official document, issued by a sovereign power, conferring a right or privilege on some person or party.
Four other gentlemen of quality remained mentioned in that patent.
Patent
The right or privilege conferred by such a document; hence, figuratively, a right, privilege, or license of the nature of a patent.
If you are so fond over her iniquity, give her patent to offend.
Patent
To grant by patent; to make the subject of a patent; to secure or protect by patent; as, to patent an invention; to patent public lands.
Patent
A document granting an inventor sole rights to an invention
Patent
An official document granting a right or privilege
Patent
Obtain a patent for;
Should I patent this invention?
Patent
Grant rights to; grant a patent for
Patent
Make open to sight or notice;
His behavior has patented an embarrassing fact about him
Patent
(of a bodily tube or passageway) open; affording free passage;
Patent ductus arteriosus
Patent
Clearly apparent or obvious to the mind or senses;
The effects of the drought are apparent to anyone who sees the parched fields
Evident hostility
Manifest disapproval
Patent advantages
Made his meaning plain
It is plain that he is no reactionary
In plain view
Common Curiosities
What does a trademark protect?
Trademarks protect the unique elements that identify and distinguish a brand, such as logos or slogans.
Is a public disclosure required for trademark registration?
No, trademarks require that the mark is distinctive and used in commerce but do not require a public disclosure like patents do.
What is the main purpose of a patent?
To protect new inventions and their functional methodologies.
How long does patent protection last?
Typically for 20 years from the filing date of the patent application.
Are there international patents and trademarks?
While there is no single "international patent," patents must be applied for in each country where protection is sought; trademarks similarly require registration in individual countries, but international systems like the Madrid Protocol facilitate multi-country registration.
Can a trademark last forever?
Yes, as long as it continues to be used in commerce and renewal fees are paid.
Can anyone apply for a trademark?
Yes, any individual or business intending to use a distinctive mark to identify their goods or services can apply for a trademark.
What are the requirements for obtaining a patent?
To obtain a patent, the invention must be novel, non-obvious, and have industrial applicability; it must also be fully and clearly described in a patent application.
How can a trademark lose its protection?
A trademark can lose its protection if it becomes generic, is abandoned, or isn't renewed according to the legal requirements.
What happens if a patent expires?
Once a patent expires, the protected invention enters the public domain, allowing anyone to make, use, sell, or import the invention without permission.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
