Some parts of intellectual property include trademarks, copyrights, and patents. Trademarks are a word, name, symbol, or device that is used in trade of goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from other similar goods. Trademark rights can be used to prevent others from using the same or similar words, names, symbols, or devices. Copyrights are a word, phrase, symbol, or logo used to identify a product and the source of the product or the manufacturer or merchant. Patents is a legal grant issued by the government permitting an inventor to exclude others from using, making, or selling a claimed invention. Patents run 20 years from the filing date.

Other intellectual property topics include trade secret misappropriations, patenting computer software, patent law, copyright law, and copyright fair use laws. A trade secret is known as any information relating to business, finances, science, technology, engineering, or economy that can be stored electronically, graphically, photographically or in writing. Trade secrets in general entail information that is not widely known and can present an advantage of some sort to the owner or the general public. Some possible trade secrets include patterns, programs, codes, devices, procedures, compilations, prototypes, methods, and techniques. Copyright laws grant protection to the original works of authorship. Trade secret laws protect important information that is not commonly known to the public. Trademark law protects the identity of manufacture or business name, word, symbol that are used to identity their services or goods. Patent law protects any new inventions created.

Intellectual Property law covers a large spectrum of legal issues including patents, contracts, trademarks, copyrights and more. The level of expertise with an intellectual property lawyers specializing in these areas can vary from generalists in the field to experts in sub-specialties. Intellectual property lawyers handle many issues including internet law, trademark disputes, domain names, intellectual property issues, patents, cybercrime issues, copyright topics, internet business plans, trade secrets, and software and computer contracts. Most intellectual property lawyers assist with trademark filling, patent registrations, patent ideas, copyrights, and other trademark issues and intellectual property issues.