Whether the discussion concerns music, software, films, or even clothing, the term “intellectual property” continues to be in the news quite a bit these days. Intellectual property , or IP, describes a few different types of “creations of the mind” for which the inventors or owners have certain rights. The laws that govern intellectual property provide what are called “exclusive rights” to artistic works, inventions, and often symbols and phrases (such as a company’s branding slogans and logos). Some of the terms we hear a lot in reference to IP include: “patents,” “trademarks,” and “copyrights,” as these, as well as increasingly, domain name law , are the most popular kinds of IP.