Definitions
Definitions.
Short definitions of the intellectual property terms this site uses most. Each card links to a fuller explanation.
Trade Secret
Information that derives independent economic value from not being generally known, and that its owner has taken reasonable measures to keep secret.
Trademark
A word, name, symbol, or device used in commerce to identify and distinguish goods and indicate their source.
Patent
A grant from the U.S. government giving its owner the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, or importing the claimed invention for a limited term.
Copyright
Federal protection for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium, giving the owner exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, display, perform, and adapt the work.
Copyright Infringement
The violation of any of the copyright owner's exclusive rights, including unauthorized reproduction, distribution, public performance, or display.
Trade Secret Misappropriation
Acquiring a trade secret by improper means, or using or disclosing it without consent in breach of a duty or knowing it was improperly obtained.
Likelihood of Confusion
Whether buyers are likely to be confused about who makes or sponsors goods or services; federal courts in Texas weigh eight factors called the digits of confusion.
Fair Use
A defense to copyright infringement that weighs the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the work, the amount taken, and the effect on the market.
Claim Construction
The judge's ruling on what disputed patent claim words mean, often called a Markman ruling; it frequently decides the case.
Inter Partes Review
A trial at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board where an accused infringer asks the Patent Office to cancel patent claims as anticipated or obvious over earlier patents and publications.
Patent License
Permission to use patented technology while the owner keeps ownership; it differs from an assignment, which transfers ownership of the rights.
Work Made for Hire
A work whose author, for copyright purposes, is the employer rather than the individual creator; it covers employee work in scope and certain specially commissioned works.
Design Patent
A patent protecting the new, original, and ornamental design of an article of manufacture, the way it looks, not how it works.
Copyright Claims Board
A voluntary small-claims tribunal in the Copyright Office, created by the CASE Act of 2020, that hears small copyright disputes entirely online with recovery capped at $30,000.
Trade Dress
The overall appearance of a product's packaging or a business's decor; it can be protected as a trademark if it is distinctive and not functional.
Patent litigation has its own vocabulary. The Patent Basics for Litigation guide ends with a 36-term glossary covering claim construction, inter partes review, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and the other terms a patent case turns on. The fuller explanations on this page link back to it where the terms overlap.