Intellectual property is the legal rights (control and ownership) of creations, such as ideas; inventions; drawings, etc. for use in trade (Bainbridge, 2012). Intellectual law in countries seeks to dissuade individuals or organizations from copying or exploiting the work of others. The main areas protected by intellectual property law include: patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets. Intellectual property can be classified as follows: Monopoly right to prevent copying De facto monopoly Contract patents Unregistered trademarks Trade secrets Confidential information Registered trademarks Unregistered designs Know-how Registered designs copyright This essay focuses on patents, registered designs, unregistered design rights and trademarks. A patent is necessary to increase innovation and competition. It is a document issued, requested and granted by a government agency, which states that a patented invention is legally bound to its owner for exploitation, i.e. production, use, sale and importation. A patent generally lasts 20 years and its costs generally depend on the stage of the application process. In the UK, the total cost of a patent could be estimated at £5000 over 5 years. International patents (PCTs), on the other hand, could amount to £7,000 over 2.5 years. This is because in the UK, the patentability examination stage is generally cheaper (£1,500) than the international equivalent (£300), but more importantly the international patent application closing process could be between £0 and £30,000 . , while the final stage of patenting in the UK is around £100 (HGF, 2014). Patents could give the product or idea not only a competitive advantage...... half of the paper ......ion of Time Warner Price paid: $147 billion, of which $128 billion for the intellectual property (87%)Examples of the value of patents include: • Nortel, a former Canadian telecommunications company, had a portfolio of more than 6,000 patents. Major companies like Google offers; later sold to other major companies including Apple, Microsoft, RIM, EMC, Ericsson and Sony for $4.5 billion.REFERENCESBainbridge, D. (2012). Intellectual property. Pearson; 9th edition.Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Intellectual Property Office, (Undated). Drawings: how to protect your drawing. London: HMSO Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Intellectual Property Office, (undated). Trademarks: Quick Facts. London: HMSO Harrison Goddard Foote LLP, (2014). Intellectual Property WorkshopWorld Intellectual Property Organization, Intellectual Property Handbook, (2008).