Intellectual Property Law Section Intellectual Property Law Section Louisiana State Bar Association Welcome to the Intellectual Property Law Home Page, operated as a public service by the Intellectual Property Law Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association. We hope this will help creators of intellectual property in Louisiana and elsewhere to understand and protect their rights.
Intellectual property is the product of someone's mental efforts.
It is usually intangible, and its value lies in its appeal to others who might wish to use it or the goods it describes. For the most part intellectual property is governed by federal law, though each state has some limited protections for certain types of intellectual property as well. Each type of intellectual property has its own set of rights and its own requirements for protection, as well as its own rules about what is in the public domain, or not eligible for protection. Copyrights are issued only by the U.S. Copyright Office , which is part of the Library of Congress. They cannot be issued by any state.