intellectual property

IPA/ˌɪntəˌlektʃuəl ˈprɒpəti/

IPA/ˌɪntəˌlektʃuəl ˈprɑːpərti/

1.名詞B2

釋義

智慧財產權

受法律保護的創作成果

an original creation of the mind — such as an invention, a book, a logo, or a piece of music — for which a person or business has exclusive legal rights, preventing others from copying, selling, or using it without permission.

例句

David's startup filed several patents to protect the intellectual property behind its new battery technology.

David 的新創公司申請了多項專利，以保護其新型電池技術背後的智慧財產權。

collocation: protect intellectual property

A Seoul clothing company licensed Naoko's fabric patterns as intellectual property for a fee.

一家首爾服裝公司將 Naoko 的布料圖案作為智慧財產權授權使用，並支付了一筆授權費。

license [something] as intellectual property

同義詞

IP
the standard abbreviation, very common in business and legal writing
intangible asset
a broader accounting term that includes non-physical assets beyond creations of the mind, such as goodwill
copyright
narrower — refers specifically to the legal right over original creative works, not inventions or trademarks

反義詞

public domain
creations that are not protected by intellectual property law and can be used freely by anyone
physical property
tangible assets such as land, buildings, or equipment

文法句型

possessive + intellectual property

intellectual property + noun (e.g. intellectual property rights)

用法筆記

In legal and business contexts, this sense is often abbreviated as IP. The phrase intellectual property rights (IPR) is commonly used to refer specifically to the legal protections (patents, copyrights, trademarks) rather than the creations themselves.

常見錯誤

❌I have a great intellectual property for an app.

✅I have a great idea for an app that could be protected as intellectual property.

💡intellectual property is the legal right, not the idea itself.

❌The company lost their intellectual properties in the fire.

✅The company lost its intellectual property records in the fire.

💡intellectual property is uncountable and describes intangible assets that cannot be physically destroyed.

2.名詞B2

釋義

智慧財產

源於心智努力的產出

any product of human intelligence or creativity — including ideas, knowledge, artistic work, or brand identity — that is treated as a valuable asset because of the effort and thought that went into producing it, regardless of whether it has formal legal protection.

例句

Luca says the pasta sauce recipe his grandmother created over decades is intellectual property, even without a patent.

Luca 認為他祖母花了數十年改良的義大利麵醬食譜屬於智慧財產，即使沒有專利保護。

contrast between conceptual IP and formal legal protection

Many musicians worry that artificial intelligence tools now produce songs that draw on their intellectual property without credit.

許多音樂人擔心人工智慧工具創作的歌曲，運用了他們的智慧財產卻未標明出處。

同義詞

creation
a more general term that does not emphasise the legal or asset-like nature
work of the mind
a formal, literary-sounding alternative that stresses intellectual origin
original content
common in digital-media contexts for material someone has produced

文法句型

possessive + intellectual property

[something] is (someone's) intellectual property

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1 (LEGAL PROTECTION): this broader sense does not require a registered patent, copyright, or trademark. A family recipe, an unpublished story, or a traditional craft technique can all be described as intellectual property in this sense, even if the law does not formally recognise the claim.

常見錯誤

❌I have an intellectual property.

✅I have something that counts as intellectual property.

💡intellectual property is uncountable; do not use 'an' with it.

❌This is my intellectual property because I paid for it.

✅This is my intellectual property because I created it through original thought or effort.

💡paying for something gives you physical ownership, not intellectual property rights.

intellectual property