While you cannot patent intellectual property as a whole, you can patent some processes that meet the criteria of usefulness and/or novelty. You cannot patent an idea, yet you can always patent inventions. You can get exclusive rights to your inventions for a certain period, and your invention can be patented if:
- It can be used (the invention works and it is not just a theory).
- It has a clear description of how the invention can be made and used.
- It is new (something that has never been done before).
- It is not obvious.
For intellectual property, you can instead get a copyright, as they protect creativity and expression. Yet, unfortunately, there has not been an effective way to ‘patent’ certain intellectual property.