Intellectual Property refers to the protections, under the law, that keep others from using your work, inventions, or designs as their own and/or without your permission. 

According to Artrepreneur.com, most art and design businesses have things that fall under intellectual property that needs to be protected. In some cases is it original artwork, a logo, a business name, but it can also be something like a unique art making process that one has discovered. They go on to state that while IP is an important aspect for artists to consider, navigating the law is something that can be complex and difficult. To assist in speaking as plainly as possible about IP, they encourage artists to think about IP this way: "At a fundamental level, think of IP this way: copyright protects your art and writings, trademark protects the names, symbols or slogans for products or services that you sell, and patents protect your inventions and their designs. Also, ideas cannot be protected, only the product of ideas."

The following resources are meant to provide additional information regarding Intellectual Property. It is in no way meant to replace a legal opinion.