Intellectual property is of two types: industrial and copyright. Industrial intellectual property rights embrace protection through patents, trademarks, and trade secrets.  Copyrights confer upon authors and other creators specific rights for a limited period of time.  These two types of intellectual property have both distinct and common elements.  Copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets are all designed to protect the creator of a product or idea.  A copyright protects exclusive rights to duplicate the unique expression of an idea (books, films, computer programs).  This form of intellectual protection was not designed to be restrictive, but is intended to acknowledge and protect authors and originators.  Patents, on the other hand, reward industrial invention on the condition that the patent owner contribute to the betterment of society by adding to its technology base (in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and plant genetics, for example).  In the words of copyright expert Siva Vaidhyanathan, “patents cover inventions and processes, not words, texts, or phrases” (Vaidhyanathan, 2003).  “A trademark is some specific signifier such as a logo, design, color scheme, smell, sound, or contained shape that points to the product's origin.  It allows and provides an incentive for a company to offer a consistent product of some predictable quality” (Vaidhyanathan, 2003).  Finally, trade secrets protect confidential, unpatented information from unfair or dishonest disclosure by rivals. Trade secrets have few limitations.  As is often the case, intellectual property law is deliberately vague, leaving room for judicial interpretation.

PATENT
rewards creators for industrial invention on the condition that the patent owner adds their information to society's technology base
pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, plant genetics

COPYRIGHT
protects exclusive rights to duplicate the particular expression of an idea
books, films, computer games 

TRADEMARK
guarantees to customers the ultimate origin of a product
encourages films to establish reputations for quality 

TRADE SECRET
protects confidential, unpatented information from unfair or dishonest disclosure by rivals