Intellectual Property – Differences between Tangible Property and Intellectual Property

To further understand Intellectual Property here’s a simple comparison between tangible property and intellectual property:

Tangible Property	Intellectual Property
If you want to permanently transfer tangible property, you sell that property.	If you want to permanently transfer intellectual property, you assign rights in that property
If you want to acquire temporary rights to tangible property such as a house or car, you rent or lease them from someone.	If you want temporary rights to someone else’s intellectual property, you license those rights.
To relinquish your rights to tangible property without receiving any compensation, you give away the property.	To do the same thing with intellectual property rights, you would waive those rights.
If someone takes your tangible property without your consent, that property is considered stolen.	If someone uses your about patents, copyrights, or trademarks without your permission, those rights are considered to be infringed If someone uses your trade secrets without permission they are misappropriated.
When any property, tangible or intangible, is sold or assigned, the new owner has full control over that property and can resell it, change it, destroy it, or give it away without the consent of the former owner.	When intellectual property is licensed, the licensor may impose restrictions on what the licensee can and cannot do with the licensed material. Those uses and restrictions would be included in the license grant.
Items that are sold usually have minimal restrictions and can be resold or transferred	Intellectual Property usually includes restrictions such as how long the licensee can continue to use the intellectual property, whether the licensee can copy the Intellectual Property, and whether the licensee can disclose the intellectual property to others.
Hardware is sold	Software is licensed
The purchaser has full ownership subject to any liens or encumberances	The licensee has a right to use the licensed materials subject to the terms and conditions imposed by the licensor in the license grant .