Intellectual property A. increases total surplus. B. eliminates the free rider problem. C. assigns property rights to knowledge. D. prevents people who do not own the knowledge from using it.

D. Prevents people who do not own the knowledge from using it.

Explanation:

Intellectual property prevents people who do not own the knowledge from using it. Intellectual property rights are very important to save and protect your business and its unique ideas to be get copied and theft by some other person or business. If you have intellectual property rights then no one can use your knowledge, information, processes, technology without your permission and consent. If it is done without doing do, then you have all the rights to take person into the court of law. Intellectual property includes copyrights, patents, trademarks, trade secrets, industrial design rights and trade dress etc.