John Adams once said, “Property is surely a right of mankind as real as liberty” (cited in ThinkExist.com). The creation of human mind or ‘intellectual property’ is not less important than any other properties. That’s why it was necessary to create a law to protect this intellectual property. The main reasons behind having this law -according to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) are: “(1) to give statutory expression to the moral and economic rights of creators, and (2) to promote creativity and to encourage fair trade.” (WIPOa 6)

However, due to the differences in various forms of intellectual property (inventions, literary, and artistic works), “intellectual property is usually divided into two branches, (1) copyright and (2) industrial property” (WIPOa 6). This essay aims at distinguishing between those two branches ‘industrial property’ and ‘copyright’.

First of all, -as mentioned above- ‘intellectual property’ is the main law which is divided into two main branches or legislations, ‘copyright’ and ‘industrial property’. Copyright (or author’s rights) is the first branch to be discussed. This branch of intellectual property “relates or applies to literary and artistic works or creations, such as: books (books, pamphlets, lectures, encyclopedias, maps..), music (musical work, musical compositions..), paintings (photographic works, drawings, paintings,  architectures and sculpture, films and technology-based work (computer programs, databases)” (WIPOa 6).

The term or the expression ‘copyright’ refers to “the main act which, in respect of literary and artistic creations, may be made only by the author or with his authorization” (WIPOa 6).

Moving to second branch is ‘industrial property’ which applies to “industry, commerce, agricultural or extractive industries and to all manufactured or natural products (such as wines, grain, tobacco, mineral waters” (WIPOb 4-5)

This type of property applies to many forms. These forms –according to WIPOb- include “patents to protect inventions, and industrial designs, which are aesthetic creations determining the appearance of industrial products”. (5) Other forms, such as “trademarks, services marks, layout-designs of integrated circuits, commercial names and designations, geographic indications, and protection against unfair competition” (WIPOb 5),  are also included in this branch. Protection in this branch of intellectual property “is directed against unauthorized use of such signs likely to mislead consumers, and against misleading practices in general.” (WIPOb 5)

After having an idea about both branches –copyright and industrial property-, there is a basic difference between ‘inventions’ in industrial property and ‘literary and artistic works’ in the copyright. This basic difference–according to WIPOa- is that “inventions doesn’t have to be represented in a physical embodiment to be protected so the protection is against unauthorized use of the invention (new solution or idea), while the copyright protects only the form of expression of idea” (7). In another word, in industrial property, the goal is to protect the idea itself and in copyright the goal is to protect the form of the idea.

Work Cited

ThinkExist.com. “John Adams Quotes”. ThinkExist.com, 2006. 16 November 2008. < http://thinkexist.com/quotation/property_is_surely_a_right_of_mankind_as_real_as/211688.html>

WIPOa. Understanding Copyright and related rights. Geneva: WIPO, [2005]. 16 November 2008. <http://www.wipo.int/freepublications/en/intproperty/909/wipo_pub_909.pdf>

WIPOb. Understanding Industrial Prperty. Geneva: WIPO, [2005]. 16 November 2008. http://www.wipo.int/freepublications/en/intproperty/895/wipo_pub_895.pdf