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

But Josh Gerben, one of the first attorneys to report Swift’s latest legal moves, said this is one of the growing gaps in intellectual property protection that AI can exploit.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2026

The more recent iteration of Bed Bath & Beyond emerged after Overstock acquired the failed retailer’s intellectual property in 2023.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 27, 2026

The submissions were first spotted by intellectual property attorney Josh Gerben.

From Barron's • Apr. 27, 2026

But the companies’ pact grew contentious last year as the artificial-intelligence race heated up, in part because of the control Microsoft had over OpenAI’s intellectual property and exclusivity agreements forged earlier in their relationship.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

As mass media has grown corporatized—with journalism, publishing, moviemaking, and the music business getting sold and merged into fewer and larger monoliths— geeks feel ever more entitled to take whatever intellectual property they want.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz