A trademark, a copyright, or a patent right are incorporeal assets. These are known as IPR. For instance, musical copyright in respect of songs, tunes and literary and artists copyright belong to the author as his property. Thus, in this case of IPR, the subject matter of proprietary interest is not the product (such as a book, a cassette), but the exclusive right of the author or singer or inventor to publish a book record music, or manufacture a particular thing or allow others to do so only at his behest.
When a proprietary interest or right is limited in the sense of being available against specified individual only then it cannot be termed property. In such a situation it pertains to the sphere of obligations only. It is only when proprietary interest is available against the whole world, that it would be known as ‘property’.