What is intellectual property law?

Intellectual property encompasses all the tangible and intangible products of the human mind. As a general rule, intellectual property laws are intended to encourage the production and distribution of new ideas, inventions, and works of art by granting creators a time-limited monopoly on their work.

The constitutional basis in the United States is Article I, Section 8, which gives Congress the power to 'promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.' Congress passed the first copyright law in 1790 to protect original written works for a period of 14 years, with a 14-year renewal if the author was still alive.

The goal of intellectual property law is to balance two competing interests — the public and the private. The public interest is served by the creation and distribution of inventions, works of art, music, literature, and other forms of intellectual expression. The private interest is served by rewarding people for creating these works through the creation of a time-limited monopoly granting exclusive use to the creator.

Maintaining this balance is always challenged by the invention of new technologies. In general, the information technologies of the last century — from radio and television to CD-ROMs, DVDs, and the Internet — have at first tended to weaken the protections afforded by intellectual property law. In the case of the Internet and e-commerce, intellectual property rights are severely challenged.