JOINIntellectual property
Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce.
IP is protected in law by patent, copyright, and trademark law. These laws enable people to earn recognition and/or financial benefit from what they invent or create.
The IP system aims to foster an environment in which creativity and innovation can flourish by striking a balance between the interests of creators and the public.
Copyright law
Copyright law (sometimes referred to as authors’ rights in continental legal regimes) is a legal discipline that describes the rights that creators have over their literary and artistic works.
Works covered by copyright range from books, journals, articles, music, paintings, sculpture, and films, to computer programs, maps, and technical drawings. The selection and arrangement of data may also be eligible for copyright protection.
Copyright law is the mechanism through which publishing houses are able to manage the content they own and license, and the bundle of rights can be divvied to achieve an appropriate balance of protection (e.g., so that publishers can recover their investment), openness (e.g., for public access), and responsible stewardship of the scientific record (e.g., by enabling right holders to pursue legal remedies for pirated and compromised content.
The Latest from STM
VIEW ALL NEWSSTM at IFRRO’s Mid-Year Meetings: Advancing Global Copyright Dialogue in Luxembourg
STM General Counsel Molly Stech participated in the 2025 Mid-Year Meetings of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO), held from 19 to 21 May in Luxembourg. The meetings brought together more than 120 delegates from 62 member organizations, including European policymakers, academics, collective management organizations, and representatives of authors and publishers, to explore…
Stay True to the (AI) Act — Stay True to Creativity and Knowledge
A united cultural and scientific front is calling on EU policymakers to honour the intent of the AI Act and uphold the core principles that protect Europe’s creators, researchers, and rights holders. As implementation unfolds, there is growing concern that current drafts threaten to dilute the Act’s original safeguards—especially around transparency, consent, and enforceable rights….
A Q&A with STM’s Hylke Koers in Retraction Watch
A timely interview with our own Hylke Koers in Retraction Watch highlights STM’s work on strengthening research integrity in scholarly publishing. With fraud and paper mills exploiting gaps in editorial systems, STM has developed a Researcher Identity Verification Framework—a flexible, inclusive approach to help journals and institutions verify researcher identities more reliably. Originally released in…
Nature survey on #genAI — and how STM’s draft AI classification can help
A new Nature Magazine survey of 5,000+ researchers shows there’s no clear consensus on how and when generative AI should be used in writing and reviewing scholarly papers — or how that use should be disclosed. To help bring clarity, STM has released a draft report: Classifying AI Use in Manuscript Preparation — that offers…