Intellectual property law is special because what is protected is not always something that can be seen or touched, i.e. it deals with rights that affect something that is often immaterial. An intellectual property right means that its holder has the exclusive right to exploit the product. This includes both rights that protect intellectual achievements, i.e. copyright, patents, plant variety, and design rights, and those that are considered to be sign rights, i.e. mainly trademarks and business names. These rights are largely governed by international conventions, to which most countries have acceded.
As a field of law, intellectual property law is extremely important for both businesses and society. Not only do companies devote considerable resources to defending and building value around their ideas or trademarks, but government attention to the values represented by intellectual property rights has increased significantly in recent years. The importance of intellectual property rights is now central - both to fostering innovation and to the advancement of the market economy and society's economic growth.
