Intellectual property (IP) law is based on a specific notion of reality. According to this understanding, there exist immaterial objects which are exclusively assigned to a rights holder.1 Unlike corporeal objects (‘things’),2 these immaterial objects cannot be touched, nor can their physical existence be measured as with intangible, yet still physical data or software.3 They are also not identical with specific exemplars of a copyrightable work (e.g. a book or a digital file), with products, mechanical or other technical processes, with product signs on packaging or advertising material etc. Instead the objects protected by IP law are merely accidentally embodied in these manifestations. The work, the invention, the design, the distinctive sign etc. exist strictly separated from their instantiations as immaterial (‘intellectual’),