How Patents Work

The inventor's best friend (or worst enemy) is the patent system: If you're the first to come up with an idea, it's yours. But, if somebody beat you to it, it's back to the drawing board. Learn about patents.

How Copyrights Work

Copyrights are the one of the only forms of intellectual property that have historical basis in the Constitution. All other forms rely on common or statutory law for enforcement. Learn how they work.

How Intellectual Property Works

The phrase intellectual property (IP) refers to the bundle of legal rights that arise from the creative genius of the human mind. Intellectual property has become an issue as the digital music market expands. Learn how it works.

How Trademarks Work

A trademark is concerned with a company's need to identify its goods or services among its customers and potential customers. Trademarks, such as Nike or Coca Cola, are known throughout the world.

What are copyrights and patents?

Notations for copyrights and patents can be found on every single product you buy at the store. In this article, you can find out what copyrights and patents are, and how they differ from each other.

What is a trade secret, and how is it different from a patent or copyright?

Companies, such as Coke, are famous for protecting their "trade secret." What exactly is a trade secret and is it any different from patents? Find out the answer to this question in this article.

Why do you see 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page of many books?

On the first or second page of many books, near the copyright notice, there is often a series of numbers that go "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1". Why are these numbers there?