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 Indiana, as in other states, intellectual property law is primarily governed by federal statutes, as the creation and enforcement of intellectual property rights are largely under federal jurisdiction. Patents are protected under the United States Patent Act, which grants inventors exclusive rights to their inventions for a certain period. This includes utility patents for new and useful processes, machines, or compositions of matter; design patents for new and original designs for an article of manufacture; and plant patents for new and distinct plant varieties. Copyrights are protected under the Copyright Act, which covers original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works. Trademarks are protected under the Lanham Act, which safeguards brand names, logos, and other identifiers from being used by others in a way that could cause consumer confusion. Lastly, trade secrets are protected both by the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) and Indiana's own trade secret laws, which are found in the Indiana Code. These laws protect information that has economic value from not being generally known and is subject to reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy. While federal law provides the framework for intellectual property protection, state law can also play a role, particularly in the enforcement of trade secrets and in providing remedies for misappropriation.