Intellectual property stands as the umbrella term for any legal, enforceable rights of ownership applied to creative and other intangible mental expressions that become commercial products. These may include music, art, literature, inventions, discoveries and theories, particular word combinations or designs, and symbols. In certain cases and jurisdictions, intellectual property also comprises trade secrets such as recipes. This essay details the three types of intellectual property that exist in the United States as of 2011: copyright, trademarks and patents. This essay also examines a recent legal case concerning intellectual property rights and fair use of an image acquired on the Internet. Copyright in the simplest definition refers to the limited right to create copies of an original work (Schwabach, 2007). In its current manifestation copyright also protects a number of other legal rights, including the right to present or stage any given work of art, the right to exhibit any given image, the right to disseminate or circulate a protected work, the right to broadcast a copyrighted work digitally or otherwise, and the right to draw from an existing copyrighted work to create and distribute a new work (Schwabach, 2007). Examples of items or creative works that can be subject to copyright law include any “original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression” such as literary works, dramatic works, recordings, movies and graphic expressions such as photos (Schwabach, 2007). Simply put a trademark refers to a label that can be affixed on any commercial good that sets it apart from other competitors’ goods (Schwabach, 2007). Trademark is the stamp or proof of brand ownership by interested parties that is enforceable in a court of law (Schwabach, 2007). Examples of trademarks include edible and consumable products such as food and alcohol, as well as tangible products such as clothing and accessories (Schwabach, 2007). Patent refers to the exclusive right bestowed upon an owner, whether an individual or a collective such as a company or corporation, which allows the patent owner to actively and legally put a stop to other individuals or groups from producing, utilizing or marketing an invention or design as detailed in the patent (Schwabach, 2007). Patents can be bought, or in certain cases the patent holder may allow others to use the patented product in exchange for money, commonly known as royalties (Schwabach, 2007). Three main types of patents exist: utility patents, design patents, and plant patents. Utility patents cover inventions reconfigured to offer a new function; design patents apply to the design of pre-existing products, and plant patents pertain to types of plants that may be reengineered and re-grown via grafts (Schwabach, 2007). In common usage when people refer to patents, they are referring to utility patents. A patent allows its owner to effect legal action in cases where the patent has been demonstrably infringed (Schwabach, 2007). Legal and ethical issues abound in the realm of intellectual property ownership rights. Ledwon (1997) discussed the issue of copyrighting as it pertains to indigenous cultures and storytelling, as well