IP protections must be patents, copyrights, trademarks, or trade secrets and must protect from unauthorized use.
Field 15 [Thomas Field Jr. (Former professor emeritus, University of New Hampshire Law School.), 11-18-2015, "Key Forms of Intellectual Property Protection," U.S. Embassy & Consulates in the United Kingdom, https://uk.usembassy.gov/key-forms-of-intellectual-property-protection/, accessed 5-22-2024] // enjen
Intellectual property is a valuable asset for an entrepreneur. It consists of inventions, literary and artistic works, symbols, images, names, designs used in commerce and original expressions of creative individuals.
The key forms of intellectual property protection are patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets. Because intellectual property shares many of the characteristics of real and personal property, associated rights permit intellectual property to be treated as an asset that can be bought, sold, licensed or given away. Intellectual property laws enable owners, inventors and creators to protect their property from unauthorized use.
Inventors, artists and authors — whose work is intangible — face difficulty in earning a living if their claim to their creations is not respected. Unable to rely on locks and fences to protect their work, they turn to intellectual property protection laws.