Intellectual property

Intellectual property (IP) refers to the legal rights that are granted to individuals or entities for their original creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, symbols, designs, and images. These rights are intended to protect the creators' economic interests by granting them exclusive rights to use and control their intellectual property.

These IP rights can be divided into several categories, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. Patents protect inventions, trademarks protect symbols, logos, and other distinctive marks used to identify a product or service, copyrights protect creative works such as literature, music, and films, and trade secrets protect confidential information such as business strategies, formulas, and processes.

Intellectual property laws are designed to promote innovation by providing creators with an incentive to invest in their creative endeavors. By granting exclusive rights to use and control intellectual property, creators are able to profit from their creations and are encouraged to continue innovating.