The entire panoply of intellectual property (IP) protections are available to the financial service sector. Creating or acquiring IP assets increases the value of the pertinent financial products and concomitantly the value of the respective financial service company.

Financial products or instruments such as novel derivatives are subject to patent protection.To the extent that the financial products require the use of computers for implementation, the software and computer methodology may be patented. The main hurdle to be overcome is the prior art: the financial software and methodology must not obvious in view of prior techniques.

Even if the services entail no novel instrument or product, the services may nevertheless be subject to patent protection as business methods .Again, the methods or techniques used must distinguish over prior methods.

To the extent that back office procedures are not revealed by the marketing of the financial services or products, trade secret protection may be the best protection. If the methods can be maintained in secrecy and provide a commercial advantage, any misappropriation of the secret methods (e.g., by an absconding employee or former employee colluding with a rival company) may be prosecuted.

Printed advertising and promotional brochures and descriptions of financial products or services are subject to copyright protection, while the names and logos associated with a financial product or service to identify the source or sponsorship of the product or service are trademarks or service marks.