Intellectual property is among a business’ most valuable intangible assets and it is important to create a clear strategy for protecting it. Intellectual protection for property is comprised of trademarks and patents and copyrights. Each type of protection offers distinct protections and rights. Understanding the nuances is essential to ensuring that your IP is secured.

The primary goal of intellectual property is to promote research, innovation and the advancement of technology through offering incentives to individuals or businesses to invest time and money into the creation of new products and processes. It also allows for the creator to reap financial benefits from the product or process they have created. This is done by creating an arrangement that grants exclusive rights to use the work for a limited time, like patents, industrial design and trade secrets.

The term “intellectual property” refers to a wide variety of intangible assets, the most common forms of IP are patents, copyrights and trademarks. Copyrights protect artistic works such as songs, books and movies. Patents last for 20 years and their website safeguard inventions. Trademarks guard distinctive signs in commerce.

Other forms of IP aren’t as formal established, like ideas and confidential information. These assets are protected under nondisclosure contracts and division of duties within the workplace. For instance when a company’s R&D department comes up with some formula or pattern that gives it an advantage over competitors this would be regarded as a trade secret and protected under the law of the state.