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Intellectual property is a broad concept that covers severaltypes of legally recognized rights arising from sometype of intellectual creativity, or that are otherwise relatedto ideas. IP rights are rights to intangible things—to ideas,as expressed (copyrights), or as embodied in a practicalimplementation (patents). Tom Palmer puts it this way:“Intellectual property rights are rights in ideal objects,which are distinguished from the material substrata inwhich they are instantiated.” In today’s legal systems, IPtypically includes at least copyrights, trademarks, patents,and trade secrets.

Copyright is a right given to authors of “originalworks,” such as books, articles, movies, and computer programs.Copyright gives the exclusive right to reproduce thework, prepare derivative works, or to perform or presentthe work publicly. Copyrights protect only the form orexpression of ideas, not the underlying ideas themselves.

A patent is a property right in inventions, that is, indevices or processes that perform a “useful” function. Anew or improved mousetrap is an example of a type ofdevice which may be patented. A patent effectively grantsthe inventor a limited monopoly on the manufacture, use, or sale of the invention. However, a patent actually onlygrants to the patentee the right to exclude (i.e., to preventothers from practicing the patented invention); it does notactually grant to the patentee the right to use the patentedinvention.