IP Insurance vs. General Liability: What Is the Difference?

Commercial general liability centers on bodily injury, property damage, and defined personal or advertising injury. ISO CG 00 01 12 07 excludes many IP infringement claims but has a narrow exception for copyright, trade dress, or slogan infringement in an advertisement. That specimen illustrates why some allegations may be treated differently; it does not guarantee the same language appears in your policy.

A dedicated IP form may schedule rights and products and offer defense, enforcement, or contractual indemnity sections. Compare the complaint's facts against each policy's definitions, grant, exclusions, and endorsements. Check the CGL personal and advertising injury wording, any media-business exclusion, defense obligations, limits, and coordination clauses. For IP coverage, verify which rights are listed, whether enforcement is included, and how legal expenses affect limits. Ask the broker to identify the clause that responds rather than assuming general liability is broad protection for all business lawsuits.