Differenence between intellectual property & copyright?

Question

Is the main difference that intellectual property refers only to intangible items and copyright refers to tangible items?? Or am I completely off the mark?

Thanks for your answer Jan, but can someone still explain to me what the difference between the two is? I'm still unsure. Thanks!

Answer 1

The definition you suggest is 'off the mark'.

Here's some info that should help:

Copyright is a set of exclusive rights regulating the use of a particular expression of an idea or information. At its most general, it is literally "the right to copy" an original creation. In most cases, these rights are of limited duration. The symbol for copyright is © (Unicode U+00A9), and in some jurisdictions may alternatively be written as either (c) or (C).

Copyright may subsist in a wide range of creative, intellectual, or artistic forms or "works". These include poems, theses, plays, and other literary works, movies, choreographic works (dances, ballets, etc.), musical compositions, audio recordings, paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, software, radio and television broadcasts of live and other performances, and, in some jurisdictions, industrial designs. Copyright is a type of intellectual property; designs or industrial designs may be a separate or overlapping form of intellectual property in some jurisdictions.

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Answer 2

Essentially, intellectual property is the umbrella term for the area of law having to do with patents, trademarks & copyrights. So copyrights are intellectual property.

Here's a definition of each branch of intellectual property (there's trade secrets as well but I'll focus on the main three):

Copyrights can be obtained for things of an artistic nature. This includes, of course, poetry, films, sculptures, music, fiction, etc. But can also include things that may not necessarily seem "artistic" in the general sense of the word. Copyrights can also be obtained for advertising copy, games, software programs and blueprints, to name just a few.


To protect an original invention OR a significant improvement to an existing product, a patent would be filed. Here's the USPTO's definition: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/index.html#patent

Trademarks can be names of products or services, logos, slogans, packaging and even sounds and smells. In essence, a trademark can be almost anything that is used to identify a particular product or service. Registering a trademark grants the owner exclusive rights to the mark within the specified industry.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!