Intellectual Property

The Hitchhiker's Guide itself is a piece of intellectual property that is referenced throughout the movie. It is an encyclopedia contributed to by many beings.

This is an interesting situation but doesn't constitute intellectual property. Though no one explicitly owns this question, the main characters go through great pains and restrictions in order to find it. It has value in that it can bring great fame and advantages to the person that finds it first. It could be analogous to a scientific discovery. Scientific theory is not patentable [2], so by this logic there is no way to claim the question as actual intellectual property.

To access Deep Thought, the main characters had to go through a portal on a planet that is "closed". This may mean it should be the property of the residents of the planet, or the beings that created it. It is ambiguous whether the main characters are really infringing intellectual property, as they had missiles sent after them but the planet seems abandoned.

This gun was made by Deep Thought, but commissioned by intergalactic angry housewives. According to the U.S. Copyright Office, the owner of the copyright of a commissioned work is the commissioner [1]. Therefore, it should belong to the intergalactic angry housewives. Though it is not a patent or idea it is unique and one of a kind. The cast taking the point of view gun with them may constitute stealing.