• Intellectual Property
• Litigation
  
  ______________________
  
• Patents
• Design Patents
• Trademark
• Service Marks
• Trade Names
• Copyrights
• Domain Name
• Business Names
  
  ______________________
  
• Unfair Competition
• Anti-Counterfeiting
• Internet & E-Commerce
• Franchising, Licensing & Other Agreements

DEFINING "INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY" First, we need to define the core term of our subject: "Intellectual Property." The term Intellectual Property generically describes those intangible property rights—those you usually cannot see or touch—which are initially created by one's intellectual creative efforts. The results of those intellectual efforts, in most cases, are then anointed with these intangible property rights which give their creator or owner the exclusive ability to control, and profit from, the results of this creativity. "Intellectual Property Law" is that field of law which defines those intellectual creations that are entitled to protection as intellectual property, how to obtain (or lose) those intellectual property rights, how to properly use and benefit from those rights, and how to obtain enforcement and compensation when those intellectual property rights are infringed upon by a competitor or other person / entity. Intellectual property law also provides guidance to a competitor who desires to produce a new product or use a new process by designing around, and thus avoiding, the proprietary territory defined by your intellectual property rights.

Winning or losing out in business and financial opportunities sometimes heavily depends upon whether your creative output, inventions, products and business ideas and services are protected by patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secret rights, mask work rights, and others. Commercially useful ideas, inventions, products and business services are the foundation of many highly successful businesses. As a result, successful business owners and entrepreneurs typically place a high value on the exclusive rights granted to intellectual property developed by their employees.

Businesses have succeeded or failed because of their owner's efforts to protect their intellectual property, or their failure to do so. The value of many publicly traded companies has taken huge swings based principally upon whether the company has been successful in obtaining and enforcing its patent rights, for example. There are many common myths and understandings surrounding the need for and the difficulty in obtaining patent, trademark or copyright protection. Understanding the protection process and appreciating the valuable rights which can be acquired ensures that your intellectual property is protected, as well as that of your employer.

"Tangible" property includes things such as land, houses, jewelry, communication system terminals and networks, and even animals—things you can see and feel and physically possess. Intellectual property rights, on the other hand, are "intangible" rights which cannot be seen or touched, but they still exist, or can exist, if the rules laid down by centuries of intellectual property law are understood and followed. Intangible property, to be protectable, must ultimately be described or depicted in some tangible form, such as a description in a patent grant, or a work of art or manuscript of a book covered by a copyright 4 Intellectual Property Law for Engineers and Scientists, by Howard B. Rockman ISBN 0-471-44998-9 © 2004 The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers