In law, intellectual property (IP) is an umbrella term for various legal entitlements which attach to certain types of information, ideas, or other intangibles in their expressed form. The holder of this legal entitlement is generally entitled to exercise various exclusive rights in relation to the subject matter of the IP. The term intellectual property reflects the idea that this subject matter is the product of the mind or the intellect, and that IP rights may be protected at law in the same way as any other form of property.
Intellectual property rights in the digital era[]
Intellectual property rights (IPRs) in the digital era have added a new dimension to the traditional regime of IPRs. The complexity and jurisdictional issues relating to the Internet are challenging the IPR regime drastically. Though, TRIPS Agreement has tried to harmonise the IPRs all over the world yet the digital issues are vexing the IPRs enforcement everywhere. There is no harmonised law vis-à-vis IPRs in the digital era and this gives rise to conflict of laws. At the same time certain technological measures have also been adopted to tackle the violations of IPRs in the digital environment but their efficiency and effectiveness is yet to be examined.
Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce. Intellectual property is divided into two categories: Industrial property, which includes inventions (patents), trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic indications of source; and Copyright, which includes literary and artistic works such as novels, poems and plays, films, musical works, artistic works such as drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures, and architectural designs. Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings, and those of broadcasters in their radio and television programs.