Although marks, copyrights, and patents confer different rights, sometimes more than one of them can apply to a given innovation or creation.

A mark can protect a distinctive source identifier used in commerce. 

A copyright can protect an original artistic or literary work, such as a writing, musical score or recording, illustration, painting, photograph, movie, sculpture, etc., so long as it presents an original “expression” that is “fixed” in a tangible medium.

A patent can protect an invention, by providing the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing embodiments of that invention.