As the name suggests, intellectual property is a work of the mind that has been manifest in the form of a product, service or process. It could take on other forms like art, design or music. The idea being, it is owned and attributable to you or your company. You would generally take out a patent, trademark or copyright to legally protect such ideas.
For example…
We all know about KFC’s secret recipe right? Colonel Sanders created a marinade for chicken and it has been so popular that this intellectual property, called a trade secret is literally a secret, locked in a safe, with access only given to a handful of employees who have signed confidentiality agreements. Anyone who breaches this confidentiality or attempts use it for their own benefit will be breaking the law and could be subject to hefty penalties.
