Trademark vs Patent: Which One Is Right for You?

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Trademark vs Patent Which One Is Right for You?
A trademark helps in protecting a name, symbol,
design, word, or logo used to represent the
manufacturer of the goods. The property rights
for a new product are given to an inventor with
the help of a patent. This way it prevents
others from making any product that looks
identical. There are companies out there who
avail Patent Services USA to make use of both
patent and trademark for protecting intellectual
property. However, one must not use these terms
interchangeably. Trademark vs. Patent The only
difference between a trademark and other legal
protections is that it only covers a single mark.
The protection may cover a logo, phrase, symbol
but it doesnt cover the owned products
manufactured by a company. Unless and until the
goods and services are patent protected they can
easily be cloned by any other company. It is a
good idea to file for trademark protection for
the logo or design of your company as it
eliminates any sort of chaos or confusion for
your users. Users should feel at ease while
shopping for your brand in a way that they can
easily pick your product. In the absence of a
trademark, there are chances that someone might
copy your logo to create a similar one resulting
in declining your brand loyalty. Getting
trademark protection abstains others from
copying, using, producing, or profiting from it.
In case they do, you have all the legal right to
sue them for damages. The damages include the
profits lost during the time when the other
individual or company sold products or services
under a similar logo or design. You have bright
chances to win the case if you prove that the
similarity caused confusion among consumers.
There are some famous trademarks, for example,
McDonalds Golden Arches, Nikes Swoosh
symbol, and Coca-Colas famous logo. The minimum
requirements to qualify for a trademark are
lenient as compared to the requirements to file
for a patent. If you ever wonder, how to patent a
business idea, you can avail of patent-related
assistance from Patent Services USA.
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• Now, lets talk about patents. A patent on the
  other hand protects an invention as it helps in
  restricting others from making or selling
  similar products. When the patent term ends the
  idea again becomes unprotected and anyone can
  use it. The patent term depends on the type.
• Type of Patents
• There are primarily three types of patents
  Utility, Design, and Plant. Lets discuss them
  one by one
• 1. Utility Patents
• Out of the three patent types, a utility patent
  is the most common one. In fact each year you get
  more than 90 of the applications alone for the
  utility patent in the USPTO office. The utility
  patent issued by USPTO is only for those
  inventions that are both new and not obvious as
  compared to the products that are existing and
  known. For example,
• There are the following statutory categories to
  qualify for a utility patent
• Machine
• Process
• Manufacture
• Matter Composition
• Any useful and new improvement
• There are two options while filing a utility
  patent a provisional patent application or a
  non-provisional patent application. The USPTO
  will not examine the provisional patent
  application and therefore will not issue as a
  utility patent till the time a corresponding
  patent application (non-provisional) is timely
  filed within one year on the date of provisional
  filing. One important thing here to mention is
  that you can claim patent pending status for the
  invention mentioned in the application while your
  provisional patent application is on file.
• As soon as you have filled the non-provisional
  application a patent examiner will be assigned to
  you by USPTO who performs the duty of examining
  your application. Just be aware that this process
  is lengthy and takes time for up to 2 or 3
  years. A utility patent carries a term of 20
  years from the earliest filing date and you have
  to pay the maintenance fees at the regular
  intervals of 3.5 years, 7.5 years, and 11.5 years
  from the date of issuance. Avail Patent Services
  USA if you dont know how to patent a business
  idea.
• 2. Design Patents
• Design patents help in covering the
  ornamental/aesthetic features of an invention.
  Say, for example, the non-functional shape and
  design of a PC mouse can be a valid subject for a
  design patent application as long as that
  particular shape is new and non-obvious. Compared
  to utility patents, design patents are often
  easier to obtain. There is no such set pattern to
  file for a design patent. However, applicants are
  needed to file clear and detailed drawings to
  the USPTO.
• It must contain all the relevant information
  regarding the invention. In some cases, you are
  allowed to submit black and white pictures
  instead of drawings. This scenario is only
  applicable when you have pictures as the only
  medium to illustrate the invention. The term of
  design patents from the date of issue is 15
  years and you need to pay any maintenance fees.

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3. Plat Patents Being an inventor, you can apply
for a plant patent if you have invented and
reproduced a new variety of plants. The process
of reproducing the new variety must be asexual
which implies not being grown from seed but
created through another process like budding,
rooting, or grafting. The plant should be unique
and exclusive. A popular example is the
Honeycrisp apple created by researchers of the
University of Minnesota was covered under a plat
patent. Plant patents are not as common as design
and utility patents. There is a very small
percentage of plant patents issued every year by
the USPTO. It usually takes a period of 2 years
or more in order to get approval from the USPTO
as the4 examination process required for a plant
patent is usually extensive. As far as the
duration is concerned, it is similar to a
utility patent. A plant patent will live for 20
years from the earliest date of
filing. Deadline For filing a trademark, there is
no fixed deadline. However, the applications
filing date for a trademark with the USPTO
office is very crucial. The date helps USPTO in
deciding who files the application first in case
two people file for a trademark for something
similar. If you delay filing for a longer period
then someone else might file for the same
mark/design/logo. A patent doesnt carry a
deadline. An application must be filed with the
USPTO within 12 months of introducing your
invention publically. The public introduction
could be done via print media or a trade show.
If you fail to submit the application within the
12 months period, you cannot patent your idea
anymore. The patent filing procedure has a
loophole in it. The standard application is
confined to a non-provisional patent and the
term for this is 20 years. In case you couldnt
do it, you have the option to file a provisional
patent application. By this, you get extra 12
months to work on the non-provisional
application. Provisional patents are not granted
by USPTO. The purpose of filing this application
is to extend the timeframe. Patent Services USA
is ready to provide you hassle-free assistance.
After submitting your non- provisional patent
application, you can use the words, patent
pending on your product/service. Who Wins
Patent or Trademark? There is nothing like who
wins as each of them carries their own
significance. You must know clearly whether your
business qualifies for a patent or a trademark or
both. You must not get confused between patent
and trademark because it leads to a waste of
time, money, and effort. Filing a patent
application generally takes a longer period as
compared to filing for a trademark. Therefore, in
the end, it is correct to say that having a
unique logo, symbol, phrase or design qualifies
for trademark protection, whereas on the other
hand, a product, a design on a manufactured item,
or a plant qualifies for filing a patent. We
hope that this article will be of some help to
you and if you didnt know how to patent a
business idea or how to trademark a design and
what is the eligibility criteria, now you know.
You can also contact us directly to know better.
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Contact us Patent Services USA Address 28 W
Flagler Street, Suite 500 Miami, FL, 33130 Phone
Number 888-344-6836 Social Networks Facebook
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