Intellectual property comprises the intangible, yet valuable tools, products, processes, ideas, and creations of an individual or company that give the individual or company a competitive edge in business. It includes logos, company names, artwork, advertising, brochures, websites, trade secrets, inventions, machines, processes, and devices.Copyrights, patents, and trademarks are all types of intellectual property. While each has its own rules and applications, they sometimes overlap so that more than one could apply to the same article or service, although in practice usually only one type of protection is granted.

Intellectual property laws are laws that protect intellectual property. In other words, they are laws that protect all the intangible valuable tools, products, processes, ideas, and creations that give companies an edge over their competitors. They are often federal laws but also include state laws. These include, for example: Patents - 35 U.S.C. §§ 1 through 390 Trademarks - 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051 through 1141n Copyrights - 17 U.S.C. §§ 101 through 1511

Intellectual property has monetary value like any other property does. It can be a key asset when determining the value of your business and can even help you secure loans.

A license is a contract that provides a right to use, subject to other terms, certain intellectual property rights such as trademarks, copyrights, or patents. This is similar to a lease of a property; essentially, licensee is renting the intellectual property from its owner. A licensor, the owner of the rights, gives the licensee the rights subject to their oversight. Without oversight, the licensor could be accused of providing a naked license and lose some or all of their intellectual property rights.