ou will need to cite at least one source from the background materials in each answer, and include at least three total references from the background materials in your paper. Once you have thoroughly reviewed the readings in the background materials and are comfortable with the concepts of intellectual property, write a four to five page paper addressing the questions regarding these five scenarios: Suppose you run into a friend who has a new idea for a business or product every time you see him. This time he is convinced he has invented a cutting-edge new management system called “Beverage-Based Management” whereby employees improve their performance by drinking high-caffeine energy drinks with a shot of vodka during their lunch breaks. Your friend provides a pile of research studies showing that caffeine can increase alertness and productivity while alcohol can reduce inhibitions and increase communication between employees. You are a bit skeptical of his idea but think at least some companies might buy his system (at least for comedy purposes). Your friend wants to get a patent on “Beverage-Based Management.” Would you advise that he seek a patent for this idea? If not, what other form of intellectual property protection might be a better choice for your friend? Your business owns a piece of heavy machinery that is worth $200,000. However, the cost of insuring the full $200,000 value of your machinery is more than your business can currently afford. So instead you tell the insurance company that the machinery is worth $100,000 and buy a cheaper policy. Then there is a fire at your factory and the $200,000 heavy machinery is completely destroyed. However you are at least slightly relieved since you hope the insurance company will at least pay the $100,000 that you told the insurance company the machinery was worth even though this will only cover half the damage. But after reading up on business insurance in DuBoff (2004) can you really be certain the insurance company will pay up when they find out that you intentionally undervalued the machinery? You find some sheet music on a webpage, and you cannot find any copyright information on the webpage at all. You do a word search on the title of the song and also check a federal registry of copyrights and cannot find this song. You and some musician friends like this song and plan to record it. Since the song was not in any federal registry and no copyright information was given on the webpage where you found the song, are you legally free to record and perform the song for money, or are their legal liabilities you still may face for using this song? The An family owns a famous Vietnamese restaurant in Los Angeles called Crustacean which is famous for their garlic noodles. Unlike other dishes on the menu, the garlic noodles are cooked in a separate “Secret Kitchen” where only immediate members of the An family are allowed. Suppose one of the members of the An family goes on vacation to New York and eats at a restaurant and finds that this restaurant’s garlic noodles taste almost exactly the same as those served at Crustacean. They also recognize one of the waiters at this restaurant as one who used to work at Crustacean (but is not a member of the An family). Do trade secret laws give the An family any legal protection for their garlic noodle recipes? If so, what kind of information or evidence do you think the An family would need in order to successfully sue this New York restaurant for stealing their trade secrets? Suppose you are an engineer, and one day you decide to take apart your iPhone. After playing around with the wiring and circuits, you find a way to increase the amount of time the iPhone can operate before needing to be recharged. You try the same method with other smartphones such as Samsung, but your method only works for iPhones. You successfully obtain a patent from the U.S. Patent Office for your new method for improving the function of iPhones. Will this patent allow you to manufacture your own brand of smartphones identical to the iPhone but with extended time before needing to be recharged? If not, how else might you be able to make money from your iPhone?

 

Intellectual Property rights

 

Name of student

Course title

Tutor’s name

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Intellectual property rights

Patent protection

The “Beverage Based Management” idea is best protected by a patent. Patent is a property right that offers protection giving the owner monopoly rights over his invention. Patent allows the innovator to forbid the usage, making and selling of his idea by other people or parties. The right is given in certain territory over a specific period of time. With the patent the friend who is the owner of the idea will be in a position to protect the idea from being taken by other companies. A utility patent is best suit for the idea due to the owner’s ability to invent it making it an original idea (DuBoff, 2004)

Through the patent other inventors are encouraged to invent because the disclosure of the owner’s invention is a source of information. Patents promotes development as the owner can later decide on who to partner with. Also, the patent enhance the application of the invention in such a case, the beverage based management is allowed to offer employs the high caffeine drinks. Its application will increase the employee’s performance thus improving company productivity. Patent protection boosts the ability to commercialize the invention making it available in the market and generating income for the owner. Patient offers the owner a competitive advantage by portraying the uniqueness of the invention being offered. 

Utility patient protection ensures that the idea is protected for about twenty years as from the day the patent was filled. This provides the owner enough time to utilize the invention before other have the permission to use it. He is able to secure the various resources that were invested in the invention research and development. For the owner to receive the patient he has to compile with all laws related to the caffeine and worker’s performance. There also has to records that have been maintained carefully. These records should demonstrate the diligence of the Beverage Based Management Company in the testing of the drinks. A witness has to be present who understands the inventions to verify the information provided by the owner. 

Business Insurance 

Insurance is a form of an agreement that is presented by a particular policy where by an entity is set to receive compensation when a financial loss occurs. It is also considered to be a mechanism used to transfer risk in order for an entity to be fully or partially compensated according to the premium the policy holder pays. For insurance to be offered the policy holder has to define what needs to be insured together with the risks that are likely to affect the stated subject. A maximum possible recovery has to be determine to illustrate how much the insurance company will compensate.

Insurance cover is offered for a period of time which is in accordance to the policy hold preference and the insurance company presents the due date. The premiums can be determined by the insurance company or the holder can choose what one will be paying according to his abilities. These requirements help in providing the valued policy entailing the worth of the subject and what will be insured (Guo, 2009)

In the instance of false value of the heavy machinery, the machine owner underinsured the subject. This happens when the owner of the machinery wants to gain by paying low premiums, believing that no loss will occur. The insurance company does not compensate for intentional undervaluing of property. This is because the contract is rendered void due to machine owner inability to disclose the full value of the machine.

The owner of the machine acquired the insurance fraudulently by providing wrong information. The wrong information led to the insurance company requesting for low premiums. The low premiums paid by the owner did not qualify to compensate the loss incurred. Omission of the actual worth of the machinery is materially and full disclosure would have changed the conditions of the insurance contract. The change is in increased premiums and a later due date.

Copyright protection

Copyright is protection that is available to protect a wide variety of individual or original work. The original work is mostly expressed in numbers or words. They include musical, graphic, motion picture, dramatic, architectural and sculptural works. Copyright right owners can reproduce their work, perform their work in presence of other people, publish the work and also communicate it to others (DuBoff, 2004)

In the case of music on the webpage that did not have copyright information indicates that the music is not protected. Lack of copyright on the music entails that the music can be recorded or performed for monetary gain by interested musicians. This is because there is no ownership claim by the original author of the work. The music is not protected from being used by others, the musicians can go through the copyright registration to have the ability to perform and the record the song as their own.

Trade secret protection

Trade secret comprises of valuable information which a company uses to gain a competitive advantage from its unique operations. The Crustacean restaurant has a secret kitchen that protect its secret in making tasteful garlic noodles.  In such a set-up, the secret laws offer the family legal protection. The An family can successfully sue the New York restaurant for trade secret theft as the secret brings the family restaurant a competitive advantage making it famous (O’Donnell, 2008)

The family has taken measures to protect the secret by having a kitchen that is secret. Only close family members are allowed in the kitchen which indicates that unauthorized persons are denied access as a measure to protect the secret. The family presenting procedures and procurement that they undertook to achieve the garlic noodles is a form of evidence in owning the secret.

The lawsuit against New York restaurant can go through because the An family can prove that the secret was obtained illegally. The family having not publicly disclose the secret is an aspect that indicates illegal obtaining of the secret. New York restaurant obtained the secret from a former waiter at the Crustacean restraint. The waiter presents the secret to his new employer which is termed as a bleach of contract and confidence in case there was an agreement of non-disclosure that was signed. 

Patent protection

Patent protection is applicable for inventions that are usefulness such as the increase in duration of the iPhone battery life. The idea gets utility patent which does not allow the inventor to manufacture identical smartphone as the iPhone. iPhone is also protected by patent laws that protects it unique features and design hence the inventor is not allowed to manufacture an identical smartphone. To make money from the idea the best thing is partnering up with the iPhone company and holding some shares in regard to the invention. Also selling the idea to iPhone can be very profitable as there will be huge amounts of money received in exchange. With this the inventor transfers all ownership rights at a certain value (DuBoff 2004)

 

References

DuBoff, L. D. (2004). The Law (in Plain English) for Small Business. SphinxLegal.

Katz, J. A., & Green, R. P. (2009). Entrepreneurial Small Business (Vol. 200). McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Guo, F., Fung, H. G., & Huang, Y. S. (2009). The dynamic impact of macro shocks on insurance    

premiums. Journal of Financial Services Research, 35(3), 225-244.

Ginsburg, J. C. (1990). Creation and Commercial Value: Copyright Protection of Works of 

Information. Columbia Law Review, 90(7), 1865-1938.

O’Donnell, R. W., O’Malley, J. J., Huis, R. J., & Halt Jr, G. B. (2008). Trade Secret Protection. 

In Intellectual Property in the Food Technology Industry (pp. 23-28). Springer New York.