Chapter 9: Legal, Regulations, Compliance, and Investigations - Intellectual Property Laws

There are four main intellectual property laws. The first is a trade secret.  These are proprietary to a company, and are vital to the success of it. Non-disclosure agreements are common if you go to work for a company with trade secrets. An example of a trade secret is the formula used in a soft drink. Second, there is copyright law. It protects an author or maker of something. The author controls the distribution, replication, and changes to their work. Even computer programs can be copyrighted. The third type is a trademark. The trademark is essentially used to protect the identity of something. This is why you see the small c or TM next to logos. The last type of intellectual property law is a patent. They are used to protect a company's or individual's inventions. After an invention is patented, others cannot make, use, or sell the invention without permission from the original inventor, or until the patent expires.