Intellectual property is often vary valuable, but overlooked and, therefore, not appreciated assets of successful businesses. Intellectual property objects are intangible assets, they cannot be "touched", but it is just they that form the basis for competitive and innovative technology, products, processes and designs. They are basic elements of brands, knowledge and skills of a company, increasing its value.

The legal term "intellectual property" is used for defining exclusive rights to intangible assets, such as:

• copyright and neighbouring rights;
• inventions and utility models;
• industrial designs;
• trademarks and service marks;
• appellations of origin of goods;
• trade name and commercial name;
• official and business secret (know-how)
• rights relating to protection against unfair competition.

A specific feature of intellectual property rights is the territorial nature of their effect. For instance, the right to an invention registered in one country, is valid within its boundaries only. In order to get legal protection for such invention in other countries corresponding applications for obtaining titles of protection should be filed in such other countries within the established time limits. A number of special international agreements are to facilitate this procedure and provide some privileges for foreign patenting and registration of industrial property.

The RF Constitution mentions "intellectual property" in its Part "Rights and Freedoms of Humans and Citizens" according to which everybody is guaranteed freedom in creative work of any kind. Intellectual property is protected by law (Part I, Section 44). Thus, the intellectual property protection is an important guarantee of freedom in creative work, facilitating the progress of the society.

As of January 1, 2008 the Fourth Part of the RF Civil Code has been effective in Russia, which relates to all intellectual property and introduces a new term "intellectual rights" replacing the term "rights for intellectual property". We must also refer to the International Convention of 1967 establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization - WIPO to which Russia is a party, the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks, the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, the World Copyright Convention, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, etc.