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Article: Intellectual Property or Copyright?(knowing the difference)(Column)
- Article from:
- Information Outlook
- Article date:
- June 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Special Libraries Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Intellectual property may be defined as legal protection for commercially valuable products of human intellect. It is a term that encompasses several distinct types of property: copyrights, patents, trademarks trade secrets and, in some jurisdictions, certain types of ideas. Librarians often use the term "intellectual property" when they really mean copyright. Each of these types of intellectual property has unique characteristics although there are some similarities among them. In contrast to real property, such as land, or personal property, such as an automobile, intellectual property is intangible. There is no physical object that comprises the intellectual property.
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