What does "intellectual property" mean?

A kind of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect, such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks.

Intellectual property

Q: What is a synonym for "intellectual property"?

Common synonyms include: copying rules, copyright law, creative property, creative rights, intangibility, intangible asset.

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A kind of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect, such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks. uncountable, usually
"According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle."
2
intangible property that is the result of creativity (such as patents or trademarks or copyrights) wordnet
3
Any individual work that is protected under intellectual property law. countable, usually
"One area of current change concerns intellectual properties and intellectual property rights. "Intellectual Property Rights in Agriculture""

Synonyms

All synonyms

copying rules copyright law creative property creative rights intangibility intangible asset

Antonyms

All antonyms

physical assets public domain tangible property unprotected ideas

Example

More examples

"According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle."

Etymology

First use appears c. 1769.

Next best steps

Browse writing guides Explore topic clusters