Intellectual property laws have been developed to protect works of the mind. Medicine, technology, films, music, comics, books - the creators of all of these different things are granted intellectual property rights for their intellectual endeavours. Copyright immediately gives the creator of an artistic, musical or literary work rights over the exploitation of their creation; patents provide an absolute monopoly to exploit a new invention; trademarks allow business owners and legal entities to protect their brand and reputation; designs protect the physical appearance of a product; and, confidentiality protects justifiably held secrets.