How to Tell the Difference Between Copyright and Trademark

Want to know how to tell the difference between copyright and trademark? It's so super easy and not complicated, I promise you won't forget after you read this post. I'll even give you a little trick to remember so that you'll never forget again. And if you stick around to the bottom, you'll learn more about my latest free resource for content creators!

Alright, are you ready? Here comes the definitive way to remember the difference between copyright and trademark.

Trademark.

First, we'll talk about trademark. Trademark is branding. Trademark is something -- like a word or a slogan or a logo -- that signifies your brand. It tells people where a product or service originates: whether it's you, your company, whatever it is. You see the Nike swoosh, you know where those shoes came from. You see the red can with the white script, you know, it's a coke. So think: trademark, branding. Trademark, branding. Trrrrrrademark? Brrrrranding!

Copyright.

Next, let's take a quick look at copyright. Copyright protects creative works -- technically original works of authorship. And there are a few specific categories of things that copyright protects. (There are also certain things that copyright doesn't protect, like facts, or lists of ingredients.) But like I said, copyright protects your creative works like art, and music, and video, and even a downloadable PDF, graphic designs, infographics. So copyright, creative works, copyright, creative works.

A quick trick to help you remember the difference between copyright and trademark.

Copyright: Creative.

TRademark: BRanding.

That's it!

If you want more info on copyright, check out this post on the content you can copyright.

And, for a trademark toolkit, click here! (Think of it as your go-to educational resource on trademarks.)

So I hope that this short little post helps you remember the best way to remember the difference between trademark and copyright.