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

Paulsen takes the level of new era economic spending from the GDP accounts, defining it as investment spending on information processing equipment and intellectual property products.

From MarketWatch

A single national market, protected by quotas and dominated by local intellectual property, proved capable of generating a global No. 1 film without meaningful reliance on North America or Europe.

From MarketWatch

Shares currently fetch just 17-times future earnings for the current fiscal year—cheap for a company with a solid streaming audience and heaps of valuable intellectual property.

From Barron's

Not surprisingly, established intellectual property — whether video games, known franchises, novels or comic books — still topped the charts this year, with nine of the top 10 domestic films tied to an existing title.

From Los Angeles Times

And celebrities with valuable intellectual property rights, such as copyrights from the Reiners’ many film and television properties, tend to establish trusts.

From Salon