Difference between Patent and Trademark

        Trademarks and Patents are two different legal protection that are used in various fields.  Trademark and patent are two types of intellectual property rights used by business owners to make money by protecting their brands and products. It's very important to know what does each of them protect as both can be used for the same thing. Trademark protects a logo, brand, or product name, and a patent protects an invention or new formulation. Both are important and serve different purposes. Here we are going to see the difference between Patents and Trademarks...

What is a Patent?

      A patent is a property right granted to an inventor in recognition of his originality in an invention. It is a legal monopoly, which prevents others from making, using, or selling the invention without authorization. The patent holder can exclude others who are not a party to the contract from using products embodying the invention.

What is a Trademark?

      A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, graphic, or any combination that identifies and distinguishes the source of a good or service. It can be used in commerce to identify the source of goods or services. Trademarks may be registered with a government agency to create specific “trademark rights” for all users.

Definition of Trademark under the  Trademark Act, 1999 -

Section 2(zb) of the Trade Mark Act 1999 defines a Trademark, According to Section 2(zb) “trade mark” means a mark capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of others and may include the shape of goods, their packaging and combination of colors; and—

(i) in relation to Chapter XII (other than section 107), a registered trademark or a mark used in relation to goods or services for the purpose of indicating or so as to indicate a connection in the course of trade between the goods or services, as the case may be, and some person having the right as proprietor to use the mark; and

(ii) in relation to other provisions of this Act, a mark used or proposed to be used in relation to goods or services for the purpose of indicating or so as to indicate a connection in the course of trade between the goods or services, as the case may be, and some person having the right, either as proprietor or by way of the permitted user, to use the mark whether with or without any indication of the identity of that person and includes a certification trademark or collective mark;

Difference between Patent and Trademark -

Trademark	Patent
Trademark is a word or symbol used to identify and distinguish products or services of one party from those of another.	On the other hand, a Patent is legal protection granted by the government for an invention that is considered to be unique and new.
A trademark protects a name/word/symbol that represents a brand.	A patent prevents others from using or selling an invention.
A trademark is any word, slogan, phrase, symbol, design or combination thereof that identifies a product or service and distinguishes it from those of competitors.	A patent is an exclusive right granted to an inventor for a limited period of time to prevent others from making, using or selling an invention.
Trademarks can be registered under the Trade Marks Act 1999	Patents under the Patents Act 1970 and related rules and regulations.
Once registered, a trademark can become a valuable asset that can be sold or licensed separately from other business assets for a profit.	A patent protects only the idea behind an invention (what it does) and not its appearance (how it does).

See Also

Difference between Copyright, Patent and Trademark

Patents of addition: Terms and Validity of patents of addition