What type of intellectual property protects brand names and logos?

Trademarks are a specific type of intellectual property that safeguards brand names, logos, symbols, and slogans that distinguish goods and services in the marketplace. The primary purpose of trademarks is to prevent consumer confusion and ensure that consumers can identify the source of products or services. When a business registers a trademark, it gains exclusive rights to use that mark in relation to its goods or services, which helps establish brand identity and promote customer loyalty.

Patents protect inventions and processes for a limited time, granting exclusive rights to inventors to prevent others from making, using, or selling their inventions without permission. Copyrights protect original works of authorship like literature, music, and art, focusing on the expression of ideas rather than the ideas themselves. Trade secrets encompass confidential business information that provides a competitive edge, such as formulas, practices, or processes, but doesn’t have the same public identification aspect that trademarks do. Thus, trademarks are the correct choice for protecting brand names and logos specifically.