Author: Michael Hydorn

Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights permit you to protect your inventions from being copied and sold. Trade Secrets rely on you being able to keep the IP secret, and rely on not being easily reverse engineered.

Holders/owners of Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights receive a temporary monopoly on their IP, and that monopoly is limited to the country of issue. The period of temporary monopoly differs for each type of IP. This temporary monopoly is the reward for providing the public with knowledge of the new and useful innovation. The newly disclosed innovation functions as an incentive for the public to further innovate and invent. IP disclosure and protection therefore benefits both the public and the inventor/innovator.

Intellectual Property is one of the intangibles that give value to companies. Recent market history has shown a clear transformation in determining the value of a company from the value of its holdings of tangibles to the value of its intangibles. For many companies, intangibles now account for over ¾ of their value and oft times IP accounts for much of that value determination.

What is Intellectual Property?

Simply put, it is a product of the intellect that may have commercial value. It is a creation of the mind, and includes inventions, literary and artistic works, symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce.
These products of the intellect may be considered property because they may be bought, sold and licensed. They are oft times protected through Trade Secrets, Copyrights, Trademarks, and Patents.
ProfSIP will guide you to a full understanding of Intellectual Property.

-Michael B. Hydorn