Since Man invented the wheel, innovators have created ideas and inventions that would have been considered intellectual property.  The notion has never been more hotly debated than it is today however, engaging corporations, universities, and governments in a morass of confusing legal conflict. Critics believe even the term should be abandoned, while proponents see value in it.  The term "Intellectual Property" was coined when the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) was created in 1967. "This international protection acts as a spur to human creativity, pushing forward the boundaries of science and technology and enriching the world of literature and arts" (2000). According to the Introduction of Intellectual Property: Theory and Practice, published in 1997 by WIPO, intellectual property is "the legal rights which result from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literacy, and artistic fields" (1997). For its part, The American Federation of Teachers has outlined the intellectual property issues relevant to education.

In the following video, Dr. Maggie Lang defines intellectual property and explains how it protects things that are "intangible".

This video overview of copyright laws, intellectual property rights, trade secrets, patents and trademarks is an interview of patent attorney, Everitt Beers. He discusses four ways to protect intellectual property: patent law, trade secrets law, copyright law and trademark law.