Copyrights and trademarks defined
Both copyrights and trademarks protect distinct creations. Copyright is a type of intellectual property that protects creative works of authorship. Copyright protects the rights of people who create original works including paintings, photographs, illustrations, musical compositions, sound recordings, computer programs, books, poems, blog posts, movies, architectural works or plays etc. While trademark protects a company’s name and its product names, brand identity such as logos and slogans.

Protection of copyrights
Copyright protects the copyright owner’s work; the owner has the exclusive rights to display their work in any form as well as publish and transmit the work onto the Internet. In addition, the work must be created in some fixed form, for example a book, print, sculpture, film, sound recording or computer program. Meanwhile, the work must be original in order to gain copyright protection.
The duration of copyright protection generally lasts for the life span of the author or creator plus fifty years (in Hong Kong).

Protection of trademarks
Trademark protection not just a protection for companies, but also protection for consumers. A registered trademark forbit the use of a known mark or brand by anyone other than the owner to protect the interests of the buyer.
When examining a trademark application, the examiner looks to whether the applied mark is likely to confuse the consumer using the brand or symbol, and if the mark conflicts with current existing trademarks. If the mark is too similar to existing marks, the application will either be refused or request changes and revision of the mark. Therefore, it is advisable to conduct a trademark search before the filing the application.
The duration of trademark protection may be vary, but usually last for 10 years. It can be renewed indefinitely for a further period of 10 years each by paying the renewal fee.

Conclusion
Both copyright and trademark are important protections. They can be used to effectively protect products and creations. By knowing your rights and the way intellectual property protections work can help you to make the most of your work and to avoid costly and trying legal battles.

See Also:
Global Trademark Registration Procedures and Fees