A patent protects an invention, giving the inventor sole rights to make, use or sell it for a set period. A trademark protects a brand identifier, such as a name, logo or symbol, so customers can tell one company's products from another's. Think of it this way: you patent the gadget, you trademark its name.
The core difference
A patent covers an invention; a trademark covers the mark that identifies a brand.
- patent — an official grant giving an inventor sole rights to an invention: She filed a patent for her new design.
- trademark — a registered word, symbol or phrase identifying a company's product: The logo is a registered trademark of the company.
How to tell them apart
Both words also work as verbs. A company can patent a new technology before releasing it, and it can trademark the logo it launches alongside it. Doing one does not mean doing the other, since they protect different things.
The mix-up usually happens because both are types of intellectual property handled by the same kind of office. A simple memory hook: patent starts like part of the mechanism, the thing itself; trademark contains mark, the identifying sign.
