Intellectual Property - Frequently Asked Questions
What is "intellectual property" law?
The U.S. legal system provides rights and protections for owners of property. The type of property which results from the use of the mind in developing new ideas and products is called intellectual property. Intellectual property law is the area of the law which includes patent law, copyright law, trademark law and trade secret law. In addition, some aspects of other branches of the law, such as licensing and unfair competition are included within the area of intellectual property. Protections and rights for owners of intellectual property are based on federal patent, trademark and copyright laws and state trade secret laws. Typically, patents protect inventions of tangible things; copyrights protect various forms of written and artistic expression; and trademarks protect a name or symbol that identifies the source of goods or services. The various intellectual property law specialties are related, often overlap are frequently practiced together.