Intellectual property is the body of law (statutes and court opinions) that protects a person’s original works. There are generally four types of intellectual property: (1) patents; (2) copyrights; (3) trademarks; and (4) trade secrets. For example, patent law protects the works of people who create new utilities for chemicals and machines (utility patents), new designs (design patents), and new plant varieties (plant patents). Copyright law protects new works of authorship such as books, movie scripts, paintings, poetry, and songs. Trademark law protects the names and identifying marks (logos) of products and companies. And trade secrets are pieces of information that have economic value from not being generally known to the public or discoverable by lawful means, and that the owner strives to keep secret.

In Hawaii, as in all states, intellectual property law is primarily governed by federal statutes, due to the interstate and international nature of IP. Patents are protected under the United States Patent Act, which provides exclusive rights to inventors of new, useful, and non-obvious inventions, including utility patents, design patents, and plant patents. Copyrights are secured under the Copyright Act, which grants protection to original works of authorship, ranging from literature to art and music. Trademarks are governed by the Lanham Act, which safeguards brand names, logos, and other identifiers that distinguish goods and services. Lastly, trade secrets are protected under both the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which many states have adopted, and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act. Hawaii has its own statutes that may complement federal law, such as laws against unfair competition, but the primary recourse for intellectual property disputes is typically through federal law and courts.