What is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual property encompasses all registered or unregistered design rights, trade marks, Australian or foreign patents, copyright, confidential information, trade or business names, database rights, know-how, technology and other intellectual property rights whether capable of registration or not.

The legal definition for intellectual property is "a group of rights created by law that afford protection to creative and intellectual effort, it represents the property of your mind or intellect".

Intellectual property rights are inherently invisible, but are very valuable assets provided that they are properly identified and protected. They are created or acquired by a business on a daily basis and are often overlooked because they are intangible assets. Like tangible assets that are easily identified, valued and reported in a balance sheet, intellectual property assets must be systematically identified, protected and maintained in order to maximise their value and strategic advantage and to minimise the risks of third party abuse or inadvertent loss.

Intellectual property rights include trade marks, copyright, confidential Information, trade secrets, designs, patents, plant breeder’s rights and circuit layouts.