With the growth of digital technology and the new forms of creative expression that brings and the fact that unlimited exact copies can be made of digital works at no cost, there has been increased interest in the subject of intellectual property; however there are also a number of common misconceptions.

Intellectual property law has a long history in the UK, dating back to the 1700s and covers such things as patents, trade secrets, trademarks and creative works. Creative works are covered by copyrights and the purpose of a copyright is to ensure that the creator receives due recognition and compensation for the use of their work, and to protect the work itself from being degraded by derivative works. Intellectual Property is an umbrella term which covers copyright as well as moral rights, image rights, trademarks and licencing.