
                        What is Intellectual Property?

               Intellectual property refers to a broad collection of
          rights relating to things such as works of authorship,
          inventions, trademarks, designs and trade secrets. It is
          said to comprise two main branches:

               * Industrial property, covering inventions,
          trademarks, industrial design, and protection against
          unfair competition, including protection of trade secrets;

               * Copyrights, which concern literary, musical,
          artistic, photographic and cinematographic works.

               No international treaty completely defines these types
          of intellectual property, and the laws of the various
          countries differ from each other in significant respects.
          National intellectual property laws create, confirm, or
          regulate a property right without which others could use or
          copy a trade secret, an expression, a design, or a product
          or its mark and packaging.

