There are several types of intellectual property rights like copyrights, patents, and trademarks. Many countries recognize a person’s right to exclusively use, make, or sell certain types of intellectual property, such as software products, brand name logos, designs, or recipes. These rights are commonly given in the form of patents, trademarks, copyrights, or trade secret protection. Intellectual property occurs when a person exclusive rights to intellectual property.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-intellectual-property-infringement.htm

This kind of protection is very important for writers.