As one of the many areas of intellectual property law, trademarks and copyrights are meant to protect against illegal copying of another creator or owner's work. The two differ in the following ways.

Copyrights are typically assigned to ideas or works that can be expressed in a fixed medium. Examples of copyright include books, papers, music, and art. 

Trademarks, on the other hand, are distinctive signs, logos, or other symbols used to identify a company. They are valuable to companies because they ensure customers of the value and consistency of the company with the trademark. 

The most common types of copyright or trademark infringement occur when someone reproduces the original work, displays the work in public without the copyright or trademark owner's permission, or creates a work that is substantially similar to the original copyright work. 

If you have been charged with a copyright or trademark violation, contact the Appleton trademark and copyright lawyers of Kohler, Hart, & Priebe at 414-271-9595.