The term “intellectual property” refers to ideas and information that have value to your business. Intellectual property can take many different forms. Examples are:
- Business and product names.
- Inventions.
- Documents.
- Manufacturing processes.
- Business processes.
- Business information.
- Marketing information.
- Databases.
- Software.
- Graphics and Artwork.
Most intellectual property can be legally protected, at least to some degree by one or more legal regimes and/or business practices. These include:
- Trademark law.
- Patent law.
- Copyright law.
- Trade secret law.
- Proper corporate structure.
- Clear ownership of intellectual property assets.
- Various types of agreements (i.e. contracts).
- Information security.