Editing Business (section)

=== Intellectual property ===
{{Main|Intellectual property}}
Businesses often have important "[[intellectual property]]" that needs protection from competitors for the company to stay profitable. This could require [[patent]]s, [[copyright]]s, [[trademark]]s, or preservation of [[trade secret]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=What is Intellectual Property (IP)? |url=https://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/ |website=www.wipo.int |access-date=21 January 2021 |language=en |archive-date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122002851/https://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Most businesses have names, logos, and similar branding techniques that could benefit from trademarking. Patents and copyrights in the United States are largely governed by federal law, while trade secrets and trademarking are mostly a matter of state law. Because of the nature of intellectual property, a business needs protection in every jurisdiction in which they are concerned about competitors. Many countries are signatories to international [[treaty|treaties]] concerning intellectual property, and thus companies registered in these countries are subject to national laws bound by these treaties. In order to protect trade secrets, companies may require employees to sign noncompete clauses which will impose limitations on an employee's interactions with stakeholders, and competitors.