Intellectual property (IP) are legal property rights over creations of the mind, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law. Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; ideas, discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs. Common types of intellectual property include copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights and trade secrets.

The majority of intellectual property rights provide creators of original works economic incentive to develop and share ideas through a form of temporary monopoly. Although many of the legal principles governing intellectual property have evolved over centuries, it was not until the late 20th century that the term intellectual property began to be used as a unifying concept.

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