Protection of intellectual property

The various kinds of intellectual property fall into two broad classes; those protected by statute and those based on equitable rights. In practice the former tend to be the more important and include patents, copyright, registered designs and trade marks. The latter include rather more intangible things such as know-how and trade secrets. The author describes how all are intended to protect the results of investment, whether the investment be in speculative research or new product development, or in the development of market and business areas, and as such they can legitimately be regarded as being commercial tools.