What is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual property is the collective name for a bundle of monopolies and exclusive rights granted by or on behalf of a state to encourage investment in brands, technology and the arts. These rights are territorial in scope though most are granted pursuant to international treaty. Compliance with those treaties and adherence to the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights ("TRIPs") which requires states to protect intellectual property are conditions of membership of the World Trade Organization.

Conventionally, intellectual property rights are categorized as follows:

• patents for new products and processes

• registered trade marks for signs capable of distinguishing one supplier's goods or services from those of all others

• copyrights for original artistic, dramatic, literary and musical works, broadcasts and typographical arrangements of published works

• design registration for new product designs that are new and have individual character.

These and many other rights created by statute or other legislation.

In addition to those enacted rights, there are several important rights at common law. One is the right to prevent a confidante from disclosing or using secret business or technical information that has been imparted to him or her in confidence. The duty owed by the confidante is known as the duty of confidence. Another common law right is the action of passing off. That is the right of an established trader whose goods or services are recognized by a particular sign in the market place to prevent another  trader from marketing his goods or services under that sign.