intellectual property

American  

noun

1. Law. property that results from original creative thought, as patents, copyright material, and trademarks.

2. an individual product of original creative thought.

   Microsoft’s Halo franchise is one of the most profitable intellectual properties in the video game industry.

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intellectual property British  

noun

1. an intangible asset, such as a copyright or patent

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Etymology

Origin of intellectual property

An Americanism dating back to 1840–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

intellectual property

“ByteDance respects the intellectual property rights that underpin creative industries around the world, and we believe responsible innovation in AI goes hand in hand with meaningful protections for rightsholders,” ByteDance’s Rogovin said in the statement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

Professor Emily Hudson, intellectual property specialist at Oxford University, says copyright laws in the UK are different to those in the US.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

He also noted that Churchill Downs made an $85-million offer this spring to purchase the intellectual property rights to the Preakness, but the state of Maryland matched it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

Equipment purchases and intellectual property accounted for all of the uptick in business investment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

It did not occur to Browne that the notion of intellectual property owed as much to Columbus as to the printing press.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton