IP Rights And Innovation: Connecting The Dots Between Inventions And IP

Intellectual property (IP) rights play a vital role in helping inventors protect and defend the names of products or services (trademarks), the aesthetic aspects of creations (designs) and the innovations themselves (patents). In this short guide, Matthieu Boulard examines the intersection between IP rights and the process of innovation – and answers frequently asked questions about patent and inventor activities, including "What is an invention?" and "Who is an inventor?"

What is an invention, and is anyone with an idea an inventor? To answer these questions, it is first necessary to determine what an "invention" and "inventors" are from an IP perspective, since the terms refer to a legal concept.