What is Intellectual Property (IP)?

Intellectual property (IP) is a wide-ranging categorization of intangible assets like property rights (such as trademarks or copyrights), computer software, design patents, trade secrets, medical data, and contractual agreements such as land title transfers or mortgages, among other assets. IP can also include musical tracks, ebooks, paintings, images, film, and other artistic mediums. IP laws in different jurisdictions vary substantially, and are widely needed to give businesses and individuals rights to the information and intellectual goods they create to mitigate potential data theft. In a blockchain context specifically, examples of intellectual property include non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and tokenized cryptocurrency assets.