Intellectual Property (IP)

Intellectual Property (IP) is a form of property created from ideas, inventions, and creative works that are protected by copyright, patent, trademark, or other unique legal rights.

Intellectual Property (IP) is intangible property that is legally protected from unauthorized use by its creator or inventor. IP protects the creativity and hard work of inventors, authors, entrepreneurs, scientists, artists, and other creative professionals. Common forms of IP include copyrights, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets. By granting exclusive rights to intellectual property rights holders, it allows them to earn a valuable income from their work and inventions.

Copyright law offers protection for an expression of ideas, such as music, art, videos, and books. Copyright law does not give protection to ideas, methods of operation, facts, or systems. A copyright does not protect the underlying idea of the work, but protects the expression of the idea.

Trademarks protect brand identity and act as symbols for products that indicate the source of the product. Trademarks are easy to recognize and can be a logo, type of packaging, a slogan, a design, or a combination of elements that make up the brand's look and feel.

Patents grant exclusive rights to the inventor or creator of a unique product or process. Patents protect new inventions and processes that add value to a company, and are the most powerful type of IP protection. Patents are granted for a certain number of years (typically 20) and prevents others from copying the protected product or process.

Trade secrets refer to information that a company uses to get a competitive advantage and is kept confidential. Trade secrets are often closely guarded and cannot be discovered through reverse engineering or public disclosure.

If Apple wanted to protect its design for the iPhone from being copied by competitors, it could obtain an intellectual property (IP) patent. Because of the patent, competitors are prevented from reproducing or selling the same design without legal action taken against them. This allows Apple to monopolize the market share for mobile phones with that particular design without fear of competitors stealing the design and claiming it as their own.