Legal Environment of Business

Carrie Pucel

Legal Environment

Paper #2

1.  For Review on page 204, answer 1-5

1.  What is intellectual property?

Intellectual property is property created in someone's mind. It can be a play, a novel, a product invention, a marketing plan, a logo or many other things.  To be considered intellectual property, the idea must be marketable and valuable in some manner.   This law is to protect the creator and make them feel secure in his or her rights to the property.

2.  Why is the protection of trademarks important?

I would think any company would want to protect their Trademark from being used by a competitor. Copyright protection is best suited to protect an individual’s work, say a software program or a newly created font by a company.  I’m pretty

sure no company would want to give away their credits and brilliance to their competitors.

3.  How does the law protect patents?

The first person to file an application for a patent on a product or process will receive patent protection.  This will establish a 9 month limit for challenging a patent on any ground.  The patent protection begins on the date when the patent application is filed instead of when the patent was issued.  

4.  What laws protect author’s rights in the works they create?

The Copyright Act of 1976, as amended, covers these rights.  The copyright law protects the rights of the authors of certain literary or artistic productions to publish, print, sell, or otherwise use that production for a statutory period of time.  

5.  What are trade secrets, and what laws offer protection for this form of intellectual property?

Trade Secret is a formula, device, idea, process, or other information used in a business that gives the owner a competitive advantage in the marketplace.  Trade Secrets have been protected under common law for many years, but most state laws are based on Uniform Trade Secrets Act.  

B.  Issue Spotters on page 224.  Answer 1 and 2.

1.  Has Karl done anything wrong?

I believe Karl committed Trademark Infringement.  Search engines compile results by key words. This will increase the likelihood that a site will be included in search engine results, even if the words don’t have a connection to the site.  With frequent hits, other sites will appear in the same search engine results.  Using another’s trademark as a key word without the owner’s permission is Trademark Infringement.