I can usually forgive the use of copyright, trademark and patent interchangeably in normal conversation (unless they are the arrogant sort and need to be corrected), but I will hold mainstream media to a higher standard.
CNN/Money is running a story (from Reuters) about Starbucks winning a "China Copyright Case". According to the story:
A Shanghai court has ruled that a Chinese coffee company infringed the copyright of coffee chain Starbucks Corp., state media said Monday, as the country's battles to rein in intellectual property theft.
No, the case has nothing to do with their music label - it was a trademark dispute (one that is fairly interesting and has potentially important implications ).
Bonus confusion: check out the title of the browser page.
Forbes also got it wrong in the headline, but got the trademark dispute right in the body of the story. ( At least MSNBC got it right ).
Ok, a quick overview, because we need to get this straight.
- Copyright protects expression ( e.g., books, music )
- Patent protects invention ( e.g., products & processes - we'll ignore design for now )
- Trademark protects symbolic information ( e.g., brand names, logos, etc )
So please, make your New Year's Resolution to understand the different pillars of Intellectual Property law and use them correctly.