Trademark vs Copyright: Which Is the Best Fit for Your Business Needs?

Key highlights

• Understand the main differences between trademark and copyright to protect your business effectively.
• Conduct thorough trademark searches before starting the federal trademark registration process.
• Register your copyright to strengthen legal protections for your creative works.
• Renew your trademark between the fifth and sixth year and every ten years thereafter to maintain protection.
• Take legal action promptly to address any trademark infringement or copyright violations.

Undoubtedly, building a successful business takes time and effort. But what if someone comes along and takes credit for your work or claims your ideas as their own?

The good news is that intellectual property laws, such as trademarks and copyrights, can help. In fact, a 2024 report by World Intellectual Property Indicators found that trademark applications in the U.S. alone reached approximately 920,000 in 2024. This reflects continued growth in brand protection efforts among businesses.

Still, there might be situations where copyrighting your intellectual property might be the better choice. So, as a business owner considering a trademark or copyright to protect your intellectual property, which one should you use? To that end, we’ll answer questions like: 

• How does a trademark differ from a copyright?
• Do I need both a trademark and a copyright?
• What does copyright or trademark protect?

And more. But first, let’s have a quick look on the difference between trademark and copyright.

Trademark vs copyright: Comparison table

Feature	Trademark	Copyright
Definition	Protects brand identifiers like names, logos and slogans used in commerce to distinguish a company’s products or services.	Protects original creative works such as literary, musical, artistic and computer software fixed in a tangible medium.
Protected elements	Brand names, logos, slogans, service marks, sounds, colors and other brand identity elements.	Creative works including books, music, movies, sound recordings, architectural works and computer programs.
Purpose	To prevent competitors from using confusingly similar marks that could mislead consumers.	To protect the original expression of ideas and prevent unauthorized copying or reproduction.
Governing office	United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).	United States Copyright Office.
Registration requirement	Not required but provides nationwide rights and legal presumption of ownership when registered.	Automatic upon creation in tangible form; registration strengthens legal protection and allows legal action.
Duration of protection	Indefinite, as long as the mark is in use and renewal filings are made (e.g., between the fifth and sixth year and every ten years thereafter).	Life of the author plus 70 years (for works created after 1978); no renewal required.
Scope of protection	Protects marks used in commerce for specific goods or services; prevents use of the same or confusingly similar marks in the same geographic location or nationwide.	Protects the creative work itself, including derivative works; does not protect ideas or facts.
Rights granted	Exclusive rights to use the mark in connection with goods or services and to prevent others from using similar marks.	Exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, display, perform and create derivative works.
Examples	Company names like Apple®, slogans like “Just Do It®”, logos like McDonald’s golden arches.	Books, music compositions, movies, software code and paintings.
Use in commerce	Must be used in commerce to obtain or maintain trademark rights.	No commercial use required for copyright protection.
Legal actions	Trademark infringement cases are handled in federal courts; common law trademark rights also provide some protection.	Copyright infringement cases can be brought in federal courts; registration is required to sue for infringement.
Symbols used	™ for unregistered marks, ® for federally registered trademarks.	© symbol used to indicate copyright ownership.

This comparison table highlights the major differences and key points of trademark and copyright protection. It helps you feel confident in choosing the right form of intellectual property protection for your business or creative work.

What is a trademark?

Trademarks distinguish one business from another. You can trademark brand names, logos, words or phrases, a product or service and more. In other words, customers can easily identify your business as the source of a product or service with trademarks.

A trademark is established through the consistent use of a mark and therefore, you’ll use the trademark symbol (™). Registering a trademark isn’t a legal requirement, but once you do so, you can use the registered symbol (®). 

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) handles trademark applications. So once registration is complete, you’ll have the green light to use the registered symbol. 

Unauthorized use of your registered mark will grant you the right to sue for damages. With that in mind, how do you register for a trademark?

How to register a trademark?

As stated earlier, a trademark is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. 

To kick-start the trademark application process, you’ll need to conduct a search to determine whether your proposed trademark is already in use. 

The number of trademarks in force in the U.S. in 2024 was around 3.1 million. So it’s essential that you run this search before investing time, effort and money into the registration process. 

You can run a trademark search through the USPTO’s trademark database before filing a trademark application for your business name. 

You can file your application yourself or, better yet, hire a trademark lawyer for legal advice.

Trademark registration is a lengthy process. According to the USPTO, it can take up to 18 months owing to the various stages involved. 

To qualify for trademark protection or obtain trademark rights, ask yourself:

• Is my trademark distinctive? For example, “fanciful” trademarks are the strongest. For example, made-up words such as “Pepsi.”
• Is my trademark used in commerce? Commercial use is the basis of trademark rights. If you’re a new business owner, you can still file a trademark application, but registration won’t be complete until you prove that the mark is active or in actual use.

Let’s now move on to some trademark examples.

Examples of trademarks

De Beers, a diamond mining company, is a well-known trademark. Its brand slogan? “A diamond is forever.” No other company (in the diamond industry) can use this tagline unless they want to engage in a legal dispute with De Beers.

Let’s say you want to open a clothing store called “Zara.” You couldn’t do so since Zara — a well-known fashion brand- has trademarked this name.

But be careful: opening an online store that sells clothing with the name Zahara can also result in a trademark lawsuit since the names are confusingly similar.

That’s the power federal trademark registration holds.

Other well-known trademarks include brands like Starbucks, Sony and Coca-Cola. As for brand symbols, Spotify, for example, easily stands out from the crowd — curved lines on a green background.

That said, how long does a registered trademark last? 

Also read: How To Start An Online Business Successfully in 2025

How long does trademark protection last?

Trademark protection lasts 10 years from the date of your application. It doesn’t expire — you’d have to renew it to keep it active. Failing to do so can cause the loss of legal protection. In other words, it would no longer be protected under federal law.

And when you consider that rebranding can be costly, especially for a small business owner, renewal can’t be an afterthought. 

What does copyright mean?

Copyright law protects original works of authorship such as music, art, books, architecture, research, sound recordings, motion pictures and software code. 

The copyright owner has exclusive rights to display, reproduce, publish or perform the work. 

Registering a copyright isn’t necessary to warrant copyright protection. That’s because your work is automatically protected once it’s created. In essence, as long as your ideas or pieces of work are in tangible form (i.e., written), they fall under copyright.

That being said, registering copyright grants you the right to sue if someone uses or reproduces your copyrighted work without permission because you can easily prove you’re the original owner. 

For example, when you create a website or blog with WordPress, you’ll be up and running in no time. But once the dust settles, you can copyright your website content to avoid headaches while you work on building your brand.

Just note that since only work in a fixed form qualifies for copyright, works such as ideas and discoveries aren’t subject to copyright protection.

How to register a copyright?

Again, only original pieces of work fall under federal copyright protection. So keep this in mind when registering for a copyright.

Registering a copyright requires that you submit the following to the U.S. Copyright Office:

• A completed application form. You can do this online or mail a paper form.
• A filing fee – $45 if you register online and $125 for a paper version.
• Copies of the works.

After copyright registration, expect to receive your certificate by mail. Once approved, you can use the copyright symbol (©). If the application is rejected, you’ll receive a letter explaining why.

How long does copyright protection last?

In the U.S., copyright lasts for the life of the author/creator plus 70 years (for works created after January 1st, 1978). In addition, works created on or after January 1978 don’t necessitate renewal registration.

For anonymous works and works created for hire, copyright lasts 95 years from the first year of its first publication or 120 years from the year of its creation (whichever comes earlier).

It’s worth noting that works published before 1923 in the U.S. are in the public domain.

Trademark vs copyright: What’s the difference?

The difference between trademarks and copyrights is that trademarks protect what distinguishes your brand from another, like a slogan or logo, while copyrights protect literary, musical and artistic works such as a book or music.

Essentially, copyright prevents others from copying or reproducing your work, whereas a trademark prevents others from using confusingly similar brand names/phrases, otherwise known as trademark infringement.

Nevertheless, they both offer intellectual property protection.

The importance of trademarks and copyrights

Trademarks and copyrights provide the owners with various benefits. We touched on one of these benefits earlier — suing for infringement.

For example, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) was entangled in a trademark dispute with another WWF (the World Wildlife Fund) for 13 years. The wrestling company had to spend millions on rebranding after the court ruled in favor of the Wildlife company.

Taking infringers to court also applies to copyrights. According to the U.S. Copyright Office, “The copyright owners of any of these works can pursue infringers by filing lawsuits in federal district courts.” 

Nonetheless, it can be costly for a small business owner to file a federal lawsuit.

The good news? The Copyright Claims Board (CCB) was established as an alternative to filing a federal case – copyright owners can seek up to $30,000 in damages for copyright infringement.

Here are other reasons why you should register for a copyright or trademark:

• Customers associate a registered trademark with high-quality products or services, so trademarks help you build trust.
• A trademark prevents other vendors from marketing products identical to yours under a similar mark, which eliminates confusion among customers.
• A copyright holder, like an author, can benefit from movie adaptations of their book. From this, they can earn a passive income for years to come.

Final thoughts

All in all, intellectual property laws exist to safeguard your work and business against improper use. Whether you register copyrights or trademark your brand, you’ll rest easy knowing nobody can take undue advantage of what belongs to you.

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