Basics: Trademark or Copyright?

A trademark is a word, phrase, design, or symbol that identifies the source of certain goods or services (e.g., Coca-Cola, Apple, and Nike). Trademark rights stem from use of a mark, not registration with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Copyrights protect original artistic works in a fixed form (e.g., photos, books, movies, songs, paintings, articles, and software code). Copyright owners have the exclusive right to reproduce and profit from their underlying work. Copyrights do not protect an idea, they protect the expression of an idea.