Final answer:
An intellectual property audit is conducted to ensure that a company's intellectual property assets are legally protected and managed correctly, to assess risks, and to avoid infringement. The term intellectual property includes patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secret law, affording exclusive rights to creators for specific durations and supported by international agreements and organizations like WIPO.
Step-by-step explanation:
These questions would be asked when conducting an intellectual property audit. An intellectual property audit is an examination of a company's intellectual property assets to ensure that these assets are legally protected, properly maintained, and not infringing upon the rights of others. It is also crucial for assessing potential risks and exposures related to intellectual property and to make informed decisions on how to protect and manage these assets optimally.
In a broader sense, intellectual property refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; and symbols, names, and images used in commerce. It is protected by law through patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secret law, which give creators certain exclusive rights to their intellectual property for a specific period of time. For instance, patents generally allow an inventor exclusive rights to their invention for up to 20 years while copyrights protect authors of literary, musical, film/video, and pictorial works for their lifetime plus 70 years in most jurisdictions.
With the global reach of businesses, there is an international effort, through WIPO and international treaties, to harmonize the intellectual property laws of different countries, ensuring respect and enforcement of intellectual property rights across borders.