Subject Guide
A Federal Depository Library
About
While it's easy to confuse patents, copyright, and trademarks, each serves a different purpose and provides different protections.
Patents
Patents
are related to inventions. Someone who holds a patent has the exclusive
rights to make, use, or sell something--a product, a process, a design,
or even a plant. These rights last for 20 years from date of filing.
The first United States patent was granted in 1790. The Patent and
Trademark Office (PTO) in the Department of Commerce grants patents and
trademarks.
Trademarks
Trademarks are words, symbols, or slogans
that identify items and goods. Trademarks can be renewed indefinitely;
the first trademark protection was enacted in 1905. As with patents,
trademarks are issued by the Patents and Trademark Office in the
Department of Commerce.
Copyright
Unlike patents and trademarks, copyright is
registered by the Register of Copyrights within the Library of
Congress. Copyright is intended to protect literary or creative works.
For works published since 1976, copyright protects the work for the
life of the author plus 50 years. Before 1976, copyright lasted 75
years.
Patents
- United States Patent and Trademark Office Home PageThe PTO provides a searchable database for all patents issued since 1790. In order to view the patents, you must download a free TIFF viewer.
- Electronic Official Gazette - Patents (eOG:P)Each issue lists the patents issued during the previous week. Issues for the most recent year are maintained online.
Trademarks
- United States Patent and Trademark Office Home PageThe PTO provides a searchable database of pending, issued, and dead federal trademarks.
- Trademark Official GazetteEach weekly issue lists trademarks with illustrations. Also includes an idex of registrants (the company, organization, or person who owns the trademark).
Copyright
- How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a WorkGuide from the Library of Congress (PDF)
- U.S. Copyright Office - Search Copyright RecordsSeveral databases are freely available from the Library of Congress site to search for copyright status. Be aware that the databases can be slow and difficult to use.