In the field of legal theory research, intellectual property can be divided into narrow sense and broad sense.

In a narrow sense, intellectual property rights are divided into two categories: one is copyright (also known as copyright and literary property rights), including computer software copyright and work copyright. The other is industrial property rights (also known as industrial property rights), mainly including patent rights and trademark rights.

Intellectual property rights in a broad sense include copyright and its adjacent rights, patent rights, trademark rights, trade secret rights, enterprise name rights, integrated circuit layout design rights, new plant varieties rights, geographical indications rights, industrial quality marking rights, etc. International conventions related to intellectual property, such as the Convention on the establishment of the World Intellectual Property Organization and the intellectual property agreement (TRIPS) of WTO, adopt the concept of intellectual property in a broad sense.

It should be pointed out that the right of discovery is not treated as intellectual property.