When an individual or business has invested time and money in developing something, they want to be able to prevent their competitors from simply copying their work. IP rights generally grant the IP owner the right to prevent others from using their IP for a fixed term within a particular jurisdiction. IP rights are generally enforced by suing infringers in the jurisdiction in which the infringing action occurred.
Patents usually offer the best protection for an inventor's novel products or processes.
However, public disclosure before filing a patent application can reduce an inventor's patent rights, so maintaining confidentiality similar to that used in trade-secret protection is also be important. Patents protect ideas which have been reduced to practice. Many individuals and businesses specialize in developing early stage technologies, but aren't interested or positioned to bring final products to market. Intellectual property rights can often be assigned or licensed to others in return for a fixed sum or a royalty. Those who develop new plant varieties may be able to obtain plant breeder's rights protection in respect of their new plant variety.