what is covered by the term intellectual property?
Intellectual property refers to legal rights that are granted to individuals or entities for their original creations or inventions. It typically covers the following categories:
1. Copyright: This protects original works of authorship, such as literary works, music, films, art, software, and architectural designs.
2. Patents: These protect inventions or discoveries that are new, useful, and non-obvious. Patents can cover processes, machines, compositions of matter, and design inventions.
3. Trademarks: These protect branding elements, including names, logos, slogans, and symbols, which distinguish goods and services of one business from another.
4. Trade Secrets: This includes confidential business information, such as formulas, patterns, manufacturing processes, customer lists, marketing strategies, etc., that provide a competitive advantage.
5. Industrial Design Rights: These protect the aesthetics and visual aspects of a product, such as its shape, color, pattern, texture, or ornamentation.
Other forms of intellectual property may include geographical indications, plant breeders' rights, integrated circuit layout designs, and database rights, which vary in their applicability across different jurisdictions.