Intellectual property (IP) refers to the fabrication of human minds that perceive themselves to be granted exclusive rights. Pioneers, masters, and individual entrepreneurs gain exclusive rights to a collection of intangible assets for a specified period. There are various types of intellectual property laws. In Singapore, they are protected by trademarks, copyrights, patents, geographical indications, registered designs, plant variety protection, integrated circuit layout design and miscellaneous modifications. Even though intellectual property is an intangible asset for a company, they give business partners and financial institutions the assurance to collaborate and add capital with the chosen organization, making them just as valuable as a tangible asset. By ensuring their creation, owners can amplify the value of their intellectual property by including it in a transaction, licensing it, and franchising it themselves. Therefore, many types of laws are needed to protect their intellectual property as they can alter from confidential information to innovations, to artistic works. A patent is a right granted to the owner of an invention that prevents others from making, using, importing or selling the invention without his permission. A patentable invention can be a product or process that provides a new, non-theoretical solution to a problem. It can also concern a new way of doing things, the composition of a new product or a technical improvement on the functioning of certain objects. Once you register a patent, in addition to using the patent to prohibit others from using your invention, you can use it to raise money for your business, license it to third parties for profit. When a patent is granted, the term of protection of a patent is 20...... half of the paper...... of a particular place that gives that product a special quality or reputation or other characteristics. Popular examples of GIs include Bordeaux (wine), Darjeeling (tea), and Tuscany (olive oil). In Singapore, a GI may be protected under the Geographical Indications Act (Cap. 117B). You may also be permitted to register as a trade mark under the Trade Marks Act (Cap. 332). However, there is a stark contrast between a GI and a brand. A GI tells consumers that products come from a certain place and have special qualities due to that place of origin, while a trademark is used to distinguish one company's goods or services from those of other companies. A GI can be used by all producers or traders whose products come from that place and may share common traits, while a trademark gives its owners the right to prevent others from using the mark.