intellectual property

Intangible assets such as copyright, trademarks, and patents. Copyright is the exclusive right given to the author of a work to reproduce, distribute, display, license, or perform their work. A trademark is a distinctive word, picture, or symbol that is used to distinguish and identify the origin of a product. A patent enables the inventor of a piece of intellectual property to prevent others, for a limited period, using the patented design. Patents can cover hardware and software. One problem associated with patents is that it may take only minor differences in design to negate the protection afforded by the patent.

Generally, intellectual property is protected by copyright law, and distribution, sale, and copying of such material is restricted so that the creators can be paid for their work. On the Internet, intellectual property may include the words, graphics, audio files, and other material that comprise pages on the World Wide Web, as well as the words written by individuals in e-mail or on Usenet.