Intellectual Property (IP) is a term used to describe intangible assets of a person or organisation which derive from their intellectual endeavours. Intellectual Property is intangible because it’s not physical – unlike tangible assets like buildings, stock, equipment and cash.

Intellectual Property includes the know-how of a business, the systems it has developed for training and developing its staff, getting them to work together efficiently, for marketing and selling its goods and services in a different way. This type of IP may be vital for a company to build and maintain a competitive advantage. It may not be capable of being protected (other than by keeping it as a trade secret), and much IP is implicit – the company may not be able to explain exactly how it manages to stay ahead of the competition.

Some types of intellectual property, however, may be protected. Inventions may be protected by patents, trading names, logos and brands with trade marks, and there are also design rights for articles where the creativity has gone into the appearance of a product. Copyright protects literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, amongst other things.

There are some specialist types of IPR too, like Plant Variety Rights and Database Rights.

Some IP rights exist without any formal need to seek protection, others will only exist if you apply for them and they are granted.