Almost everyone diligently strives to protect their tangible property -- be that a home, a cherished automobile, a wedding ring or an almost limitless number of other objects. Whether the value of such property is sentimental, financial or both, the property is important to us.
A desire to maintain ownership of even intangible works we create seems inherent when we are in school. We desire credit for what we have accomplished academically, usually receiving that recognition in the form of praise or good grades. In a professional sense, inventors, novelists, playwrights, composers, musicians, actors and computer programmers, to name just a few, want to safeguard the ownership of their tangible and intangible property and to receive the rewards produced by the commercial use of such property.
