Information Analyst

Intellectual property rights give creators exclusive rights to their creations, thereby providing an incentive for the author or inventor to develop and share the information rather than keep it secret. The legal protections granted by IP laws are credited with significant contributions toward economic growth.

Intellectual property rights are usually limited to non-rival goods, that is, goods which can be used or enjoyed by many people simultaneously - the use by one person does not exclude use by another. This is compared to rival goods, such as clothing, which may only be used by one person at a time. It is often the edge which sets successful companies apart and as world markets become increasingly competitive, protecting your intellectual property becomes essential.

Confidential information (also referred to as trade secrets), patents, registered designs, trade marks, copyright, circuit layout rights and plant breeder's rights are all legally classified as IP rights. Intellectual property represents the property of your mind or intellect. In business terms, this also means your proprietary knowledge.

• patents for new or improved products or processes;

• trade marks for letters, words, phrases, sounds, smells, shapes, logos, pictures, aspects of packaging or a combination of these, to distinguish the goods and services of one trader from those of another;

• designs for the shape or appearance of manufactured goods;

• copyright for original material in literary, artistic, dramatic or musical works, films, broadcasts, multimedia and computer programs;

• circuit layout rights for the three-dimensional configuration of electronic circuits in integrated circuit products or layout designs;

• plant breeder's rights for new plant varieties; and

• Confidentiality/trade secrets including know-how and other confidential or proprietary information.

In reference to An Australian Government Initiative, Intellectual property laws protect the property rights in creative and inventive endeavors and give creators and inventors certain exclusive economic rights, generally for a limited time, to deal with their