| Law. property that results from original creative thought, as patents, copyright material, and trademarks. |
| intellectual property n. A product of the intellect that has commercial value, including copyrighted property such as literary or artistic works, and ideational property, such as patents, appellations of origin, business methods, and industrial processes. |
intellectual property legal
(IP) The ownership of ideas and control over the tangible or virtual representation of those ideas. Use of another person's intellectual property may or may not involve royalty payments or permission, but should always include proper credit to the source.
(1997-03-27)