Owning a patent, copyright, or trademark for intellectual property is valuable to people who create things. Each protects the person who owns its because it prevents other people or businesses from using the protected creation for their gain (versus the creator's gain). It's also important that teachers, students, and the general public understand what trademarks, copyrights, and patents are and the protections they grant to the people who own them, as many people who violate these protections do so unknowingly. Similarly, many people don't know that there are works that they can use, either in a limited capacity or freely.   

This link provides a quick lesson about the difference between trademarks, copyrights, and patents.   Be encouraged to visit to gain a better understanding of the differences,  the protection that they each provide, along with when it's safe to use others' protected materials.  

(Special thanks to Katie with Lyndhurst Stem Club for Girls for sharing this valuable information with IASL members.)

DISCLAIMER:  Page link is NOT an endorsement of the Attorney/legal services offered by the  page owners.  Instead, provision only serves as a reference to the VALUABLE  INFORMATION provided on the page about INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.

A copyright is the protection of original authorship for all intellectual works. A copyright goes into effect the moment your work is created into a tangible form. This means that it protects the person who wrote the material and states that the material belongs to them. A copyright can apply to anything that is written. Did you know everything from poems and books, drawings and songs, to artwork and computer programs can be copyrighted! Did you know copyrights can also apply to movies? 

A copyright is a form of protection to authors that gives the author the sole ownership of their work. This means that the author alone has the right to make copies of the work, unless the author grants permission to other people. It also protects the author and the work from others who wish to take characters or other parts of it and create new works from it. This is called derivative works. The copyright also protects distribution rights, public performance, and public display rights. For all of these rights the author must give permission for these things to happen. Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act of 1995 set up a system that helped the writers and musicians of songs to be compensated for the work that is used in digital formats.

Authors' right is the right of the author to choose whom they will share their work with. (Why Authors' Rights and Copyright Matter) It allows authors to protect their works, and to make a profit from them. In the digital age, it is becoming more difficult for authors to protect their works. Many schools are working out deals with authors that allow them institutional licenses to use their work in a particular school.

Learn more about copyrights here:

• Copyright in General
• What Is Copyright?
• What Does Copyright Protect?
• Registering a Work for a Copyright

Do you know the difference between a copyright and a patent? A patent protects ideas and discoveries, which a copyright does not do. A patent is a form of intellectual property that gives the owner the sole right to their invention. A patent excludes others from making, using or selling their invention. You can learn more information at the United States Patent and Trademark Office about patents.

Learn more about patents and intellectual property here:

• General information concerning patents
• Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Basics: What is a Patent?
• Eight Steps to Patent Your Invention
• The U.S. Patent Application Process
• The Patent & Trademark Resource Center
• United States Patents

What about trademarks? A trademark is a form of intellectual property that is made up of a sign, symbol, design, or expression that identifies a product, brand, goods or services. Trademarks are protected by intellectual property rights.

Learn more about trademarks here:

• Trademark basics from the United States Patent and Trademark Office
• What Is a Trademark?

Visit Link to learn much, much more about the invention process and available resources.  

https://www.uprinting.com/copyright-guide-trademarks-and-patents-in-print-and-beyond.html