Patent vs copyright: what's the practical distinction?
Reviewed by
Dominic Davies, patent attorney (20+ years)
· Last reviewed
September 7, 2026
A patent protects how something works and requires an application and examination process; a copyright protects an original creative expression, like written code, automatically from the moment it's fixed in a tangible form. Copyright can protect a program's source code as written, but not the underlying process or idea it performs.
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