Intellectual property law is, at its core, a balancing act. On one side is the need to protect new ideas and original works and thus incentivize creativity and innovation. On the other is the need for access to those works and ideas—not only for enjoyment, but because so much of what we consider new is built on what has gone before.

The major intellectual property regimes under U.S. law strike this balance in very different ways. Patent law generally offers very broad protection to novel ideas for a relatively short period of time. Copyright protection lasts far longer, but applies only to a particular unique expression, not the underlying idea, and is subject to various exceptions and limitations on its scope. Trademark and trade secret law rely on their own limitations—whether on the scope or length of protection, the subject matter, or the available remedies—to strike the appropriate balance. Each system has its own quirks and exceptions, and each has evolved over time to keep up with the changing needs of the digital age.