Although production agriculture has traditionally not been concerned about intellectual property issues, it has become more important in recent years. With the advent of branded specialty agricultural products, the need for various types of intellectual property protection has increased. For some value-added agricultural businesses, intellectual property is important in protecting the core of their competitive advantage in the marketplace. So, understanding intellectual property and how to use it is vital to the success of many value-added agricultural business ventures.

Intellectual property usually includes patents, trade secrets, trademarks and copyrights. Patents and trade secrets are most important for protecting proprietary technology or new processes. Trademarks are important for protecting the identification of your product in the marketplace.  Copyrights are usually less important in the value-added agriculture.

To help understand intellectual property in general, read Intellectual Property 101 and Clearing up the Confusion about Patents, Trademarks & Copyrights.

Patents are sometimes used in value-added businesses.  Purpose for Patenting a Business Method and Provisional Patent Applications: Fact versus Myth will help you understand patents and the patent process.

For those planning to use a trademark, read Trademark Searches as Risk Management. For value-added businesses involved with copyrights read Works Made for Hire: Who Owns the Copyright?  If you have an invention, read Let the Inventor Beware.

History and Trends in Agricultural Biotechnology Patent Law from a Litigator's Perspective, Developments in GMO Patent Infringement Cases, and Seed Wrap License will help you understand the issues of intellectual property pertaining to agricultural biotechnology.  Future business activities involving Nanotechnology: The Smallest 'Big' Thing will draw a lot of intellectual property attention.

For more information on intellectual property, see the box at the right.