Intellectual Property (IP) refers to anything that originates in the human mind, including theories, conceptions, discoveries, anecdotes, works of literature. World Intellectual Property Day 2024 is highlighting the critical importance of intellectual property (IP) in catalyzing the human innovation and creativity needed for achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper discusses the existing IP rights and breakthroughs in the field of IPP research; provides discussions on hardware IP and software IP attacks and defense techniques; summarizes different applications of IP protection; and identifies the challenges and future research prospects in hardware and software IP security.