Types of intellectual property laws

Intellectual property law consists of several discrete legal categories. Although
these categories can overlap with respect to a particular intellectual property, they
each have their own characteristics and terminology.

• Trade secret law affords the owner of commercial information that provides
a competitive edge the right to keep others from using such information
if the information was improperly disclosed to or acquired by a
competitor and the owner of the information took reasonable precautions
to keep it secret.
• Copyright law protects all types of original creative expression, such as that
produced by authors, composers, artists, designers, programmers, and Web
page designers. However, copyright law does not protect the ideas and
concepts underlying an expressive work; it only protects the literal form the
expressive work takes. For example, copyright protects the actual words
used to write a novel about life on a submarine where the crew faces almost
certain death because of damaged engines. But copyright won’t prevent
other writers from either writing novels about submarine life or using the
same basic plot, as long as they don’t copy the first novelist’s literal expression.
Copyright protection lasts a long time, often 100 years or more.
• Trademark law protects the distinctive (unique, creative, or well known
through use) names, designs, logos, slogans, symbols, colors, packaging,
and containers and any other devices that are used by businesses to identify
the source of their goods and services and distinguish them in the marketplace.
This protection can last indefinitely.
• Patent law gives the inventor of a new and nonobvious invention the right
to exclusive use of that invention for a limited term. How long the inventor
retains the exclusive right depends on the kind of patent. A utility patent (the most common type of patent) goes into effect when issued by the U.S.Patent and Trademark Office and expires 20 years after the application forthe patent was filed. A design patent (for a new but nonfunctional design)lasts 14 years after the date the patent issues. A plant patent expires 20years from the date the patent was filed.