How do copyrights and patents differ?

What they cover

Copyrights cover “original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression.” The word “authorship” might be misleading to a layperson, insofar as it suggests strictly written works. It’s more general: audio, video, dance choreography, sculpture, architectural works, and others are also covered.

Copyright in Vietnam 

Patents cover… more specific things. They can cover concrete things, like machines or chemicals. They can cover less tangible things, like methods of doing stuff (like methods of manufacturing a machine or chemical). In some cases they can have the practical effect of covering algorithms.

(That last sentence might be like nails on a chalkboard to some patent-educated folks, because technically pure algorithms aren’t patentable. I don’t think that discussion is illuminating in the context of this basic, foundational question.)

How to get them

Getting a copyright is easy. As soon as the metaphorical pen leaves the metaphorical paper, the author has rights. If you write a poem on a cocktail napkin, you instantly hold the copyright on your poem. That’s true even if your poem is identical to a poem someone else wrote. In other words, there’s no “novelty” requirement for copyrights. It must only be original, in the sense that you came up with it through your own creative process.

It’s a lot harder to secure patent rights. You first draft a patent application and send it to the patent office. That application is very closely scrutinized and researched by a patent examiner. The patent examiner will determine whether your invention is novel (and some other requirements).

Typically, the process takes many years to successfully navigate. It’s also very costly. There are also filing fees with the patent office over the lifetime of the application, typically amounting to a grand or two but possibly more.

How long they last

A patent, if granted, lasts 20 years from the date the application was filed.

A copyright lasts longer. How long depends on whether the author is a person (or people), or if the work is a “work for hire” from a corporation.

If the author is a person or people, then the copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of the last living author. If it’s a work for hire (or an anonymous or pseudonymous work), then it’s the shorter of 95 years from first publication, or 120 years from creation.

It’s actually a little more complicated than that, because Congress had monkeyed around with the duration of copyrights. In practice, there are different rules based on the date the work was created or first published. But what I said above applies to works created today.

What they prevent

If I have a patent, I can stop anyone else from making, using, selling, or offering to sell my patented invention.

If I have a copyright on my work, I can stop anyone else from copying, distributing copies, and creating derivative works of my work. For those works that can be publicly performed or displayed, I can stop others from public performance or display.

Both of these categories of rights are subject to limitations and defenses. I won’t go into what they are, especially for copyrights.

Source: Quora.com