How to Invent and Protect Your Invention: A Guide to Patents for Scientists and Engineers

CHAPTER 4

A SHORT SUMMARY OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Intellectual property encompasses a wide variety of intangible creations, including scientific inventions, chemical compounds, software, musical compositions, literature, architectural designs, commercial logos, company names, images, and even secrets. Unlike tangible goods that can be physically possessed, intellectual property owners have no physical means of preventing others from using their creations or to capture the monetary value of their work. Intellectual property protection was created to encourage individuals and organizations to create, invent, and develop by giving them the legal right to prevent others from using their work for a limited period of time, thus creating an economic incentive for research and development. Each country has its own intellectual property system. Though most countries’ systems are similar to that of the United States, each country has specific rules and requirements, including separate filings to protect intellectual property rights in their jurisdiction. (These matters are discussed in Chapter 12).

The global community recognizes four major types of intellectual property: patents, trade secrets, copyrights, and trademarks.