Intellectual property protects original inventions or creations so that their authors or creators can exploit them and enjoy the patrimonial and personal privileges they offer.

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Intellectual property is divided into two categories:

 

• Industrial Property: works protected by invention patents and utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, trade names, and appellations of origin, among others.

 

• Copyright: protects literary, musical, dramatic, dance, pictorial, sculptural, and plastic works.

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Performances of performing artists, broadcasts, and phonograms are called “related rights,” which protect interpreters and performers of such works.

 

The main purposes of intellectual property are to ensure the legal protection over property and moral rights of creators regarding their works and to encourage creativity and the development of new knowledge.

 

In Mexico, the authorities responsible for ensuring these rights are the Instituto Nacional de Derechos de Autor and the Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial. Internationally, the World Intellectual Property Organization is responsible for promoting intellectual property worldwide, as well as strengthening the cooperation among nations in this area.