The goal of this lecture is to familiarize you with the concept of intellectual property. Additionally, it will briefly address the ethical dimensions of intellectual property. Before proceeding, the terms property and intellectual property must be defined. Property is an asset that can be owned. There are two broad types of property. The first type of property is tangible. Tangible property includes items that can be seen and touched. Tangible property includes what we commonly associate with property, real estate, cars, jewelry and clothing. Another type of property is intangible. Intangible property is what cannot be seen. Examples of intangible property include the ideas contained in books, journals, or music. It also includes the coding for computer software. These intangible forms of property are often called intellectual property.

Intellectual property, like real property is an asset. However, unlike real property, is not something your can feel, smell, or touch. In order for intellectual property to exist, of course an idea must first come into existence. It must then have some form of instantiation. This is the concrete expression of the idea. An example of instantiation occurs when an author envisions a story and then puts his/her idea on paper. Without this concrete expression, the idea is not intellectual property (Hefter & Litwitz, 1999).

Like real property, intellectual property comes with a bundle of rights. Ownership allows one to restrict access to intellectual property. This is what is called a negative right. Negative rights allow one to prohibit certain actions. Because access can be limited, it is possible to create value if others are interested in acquiring the idea. Ownership allows intellectual property to be bought and/or sold (positive rights.) It can also be temporarily rented out. For example, some computer software programs require the user to pay a periodic fee to maintain usage rights.