Thought police. Healthcare executives must carefully guard intellectual property developed in their facilities.

Healthcare executives should have a working knowledge of intellectual property law--the legal principle that, for a limited period, treats intangible ideas and concepts as if they were products or property. Not only should administrators be aware of how to protect their facilities' patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, but they must also be sure that employees in their own facilities do not infringe on the intellectual property of others. A patent is granted when an inventor proposes a useful new process, machine, "article of manufacture," or composition of matter, including any new and useful improvement on existing items in these same categories. A trademark is a name, symbol, device, or combination thereof adopted and used by an institution to identify its goods or services and to distinguish them from its competitors' goods or services. Expressions of ideas and thoughts set forth in words, sentences, paragraphs, sketches, pictures, graphs, or any other means of conveying ideas or concepts commonly understood to be works of authorship--both published and unpublished--may be protected by a copyright. Trade secret law applies to those who might misappropriate information that has been given to them because of their special relationship with the holder of the trade secret (i.e., through employment, contract, or other fiduciary or trust relationship).