- Patents — cover products, commercial processes.
- Copyrights — written ideas (books, music, computer programs).
- Trademarks — brand names, logos.
- Trade Secrets.
Example: High-Frequency Trading Arms Race
Once the idea becomes Public Goods , it is hard to transmit. The fact that information is usually costly to produce but cheap to transmit gives rise to the problem of non-appropriability, i.e., producers have problems selling information for more than a fraction of its value.