DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COPYRIGHT, TRADEMARK, AND PATENTS
A. COPYRIGHT
As to their RATIONALE
To protect the rights of the creator and owner of the copyright.
As to their SUBJECT MATTER
The subject matter of the Copyright are the copyrightable works such as the Original Work and Derivative Works enumerated
under Sections 172 and 173, respectively.
As to their ELEMENTS
Originality and Expression
As to WHEN PROTECTION BEGINS
According to Section 172 of R.A. No. 8293, Literary and Artistic works are protected from the moment of its creation. As well
as the Derivative Works enumerated under Section 173 of the same act shall also be protected from the moment of its creation.
As to TERM OF PROTECTION
Under Section 213 and its subsections 213.1 - 213.6, subject to the provisions of Subsections 213.2 to 213.5, the copyright in works
under Sections 172 and 173 shall be protected during the life of the author and for fifty (50) years after his death. This rule also
applies to posthumous works.
In case of works of joint authorship, the economic rights shall be protected during the life of the last surviving author and for fifty (50)
years after his death.
In case of anonymous or pseudonymous works, the copyright shall be protected for fifty (50) years from the date on which the work was
first lawfully published: Provided, That where, before the expiration of the said period, the author's identity is revealed or is no longer in
doubt, the provisions of Subsections 213.1. and 213.2 shall apply, as the case may be: Provided, further, That such works if not published
before shall be protected for fifty (50) years counted from the making of the work. (Sec. 23, P.D. No. 49)
In case of works of applied art the protection shall be for a period of twenty-five (25) years from the date of making.
In case of photographic works, the protection shall be for fifty (50) years from publication of the work and, if unpublished, fifty (50) years
from the making.
In case of audio-visual works including those produced by process analogous to photography or any process for making audio-visual
recordings, the term shall be fifty (50) years from date of publication and, if unpublished, from the date of making. (Sec. 24(C), P.D. No.
49a)
Under Section 214, the term of protection subsequent to the death of the author provided in the preceding Section shall run from
the date of his death or of publication, but such terms shall always be deemed to begin on the first day of January of the year following the
event which gave rise to them. (Sec. 25, P.D. No. 49)
Section 215 states the term of protection for performers, producers and broadcasting organizations. The rights granted to
performers and producers of sound recordings under this law shall expire:
(a) For performances not incorporated in recordings, fifty (50) years from the end of the year in which the performance took place;
and
(b) For sound or image and sound recordings and for performances incorporated therein, fifty (50) years from the end of the year in
which the recording took place.
In case of broadcasts, the term shall be twenty (20) years from the date the broadcast took place. The extended term shall be applied only
to old works with subsisting protection under the prior law.
B. TRADEMARK
As to their RATIONALE
A trademark protects a business’ brand identity in the marketplace. Registration of it gives the owner the exclusive rights to prevent
others from using or exploiting the mark in any way.
Aside from being a source-identifier, differentiator, quality indicator, and an advertising device, a protective mark may also bring
another stream of income to the owner through licensing or franchising.
As to their SUBJECT MATTER
Its subject matter is the Mark. According to Subsection 121.1 of Section 121, Mark means any visible sign capable of distinguishing
the goods (trademark) or services (service mark) of an enterprise and shall include a stamped or marked container of goods.
As to their ELEMENTS
As to WHEN PROTECTION BEGINS
As to TERM OF PROTECTION
A trademark can be protected in perpetuity if regularly monitored and properly maintained. The period of protection is ten (10) years
from the date of registration and is renewable for a period of ten (10) years at a time. (Intellectual Property Office of Philippines)
C. PATENT
As to their RATIONALE
A patent is an exclusive right that allows the inventor to exclude others from making, using, or selling the product of his invention
during the life of the patent. Patent owners may also give permission to, or license, other parties to use their inventions on mutually agreed
terms. Owners may also sell their invention rights to someone else, who then becomes the new owner of the patent. (Intellectual Property
Office of the Philippines)
As to their SUBJECT MATTER
Under Sec. 21, the subject matter of the Law on Patents are the Patentable Inventions. It is defined as any technical solution of a
problem in any field of human activity which is new, involves an inventive step and is industrially applicable shall be Patentable. It may be,
or may relate to, a product, or process, or an improvement of any of the foregoing.
As to their ELEMENTS
The Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines sets three conditions for an invention to be deemed patentable: it has to be new,
involves an inventive step, and industrially applicable.
An invention is not considered new if it already forms part of the domain of prior art. Prior art is explained in the Intellectual Property Code
of the Philippines, Chapter 2, Section 24 - 24.2
An invention involves an inventive step if, having regard to prior art, it is not obvious to a person skilled in the art at the time of the filing date
or priority date of the application claiming the invention. An invention that can be produced and used in any industry is considered
industrially applicable.(Intellectual Property Office of Philippines)
As to WHEN PROTECTION BEGINS
As to TERM OF PROTECTION
Under Sec. 54, the term of a patent shall be twenty (20) years from the filing date pf the application.
