What Is Intellectual Property? Definition and Guide

Intellectual property, or IP, consists of all the pieces of your business that you or your employees have thought of. These are the things that differentiate you from the competition that you came up with using your intellect—your brain.

IP is the original concepts and ideas conceived of and developed by employees, or workers and advisors under contract to do so. These become corporate assets and include:

• Inventions
• Work processes
• 文章、博客文章、案例研究、和other content
• Cooks
• Illustrations
• Photos
• Music
• Logos
• Product and business names
• Taglines
• Slogans
• Movies
• Games

They are things or ideas you have created that support your business.

Protecting your assets

Since IP has value, and it belongs to you, you’ll want toprotect it．Fortunately, the U.S. government agrees with you and has created laws to ensure no one else steals or uses your IP without your permission.

There are four major types of protections for IP:

1. Copyright．This type of protection is given to creative works such as writing or drawing. Books, software, architectural drawings, articles, blog posts, graphic designs, and movies are all covered by copyright.
2. Trademark．This protection is given to original words or combinations of words, symbols, and designs that you create to represent your business. The symbol TM at the end of a word indicates thattrademark protectionis claimed, and ® means that the trademark has been registered.
3. Patent．Patent protectionis given to product or process inventions, giving the creator exclusive control over how their idea is used. There are three types of patents: utility (for a process or machine), design (original graphical representations), and plant (as in flora and fauna).
4. Trade secret．商业秘密保护的特殊形式ulas, programs, or techniques you develop that are your own (think Coke’s secret formula for its drinks or a masseuse’s particular techniques).

Although IP is often intangible, unlike equipment or inventory, it can be an even more important contributor to the success of your business than tangible assets.