What are Intellectual Assets?

28 March 2017 Updated 23 Aug 2017

Intellectual assets are creations of the mind that give one business a competitive edge over others.

Examples include new inventions (that is to say, new products or processes for making things), new designs (the look or feel of a new product), brands (the messages that businesses send to their market), works of art or literature such as broadcasts, choreography, films, musical scores, novels, paintings, plays or poetry or maybe the performance of a play, ballet or musical score by an actor, dancer or musician.

These assets are the subjects of intellectual property protection and the laws that protect them from unauthorized exploitation, such as patents, copyrights, trade marks. registered designs and unregistered design rights are known collectively as intellectual property.

Further Reading

 Jane Lambert, What is Intellectual Property?  28 March 2017

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