Intellectual Property

Question 1

what’s IP and why is it important

Answer 1

• definition: creations of the mind, including inventions, literary and artistic works, symboks, names, images used in commerce
• importance
  1. giving creators rights to their inventions stimulates creativity
  2. society benefits most when inventions in public domain

Question 2

Locke’s definition of property

Answer 2

people have a natural right to the things they have removed from nature through their own labor.

This theory assumes there’s plenty of raw materials and lands

Question 3

how is IP protected and what are the limitations

Question 4

difference and definition of trade secrets, trademarks, patents, and copyright

Answer 4

• trade secrets:confidential piece of intellectual property that gives cmpany a competitive advantage and they never expire; reverse engineering allowed; may be compromised when employees leave frim
• trademark/service mark: trade mark identifies goods, service mark identifies services, company can establish a brand name and it doesn’t expire but may be lost when it becomes a common noun
• a public document that provides detailed descrioption of invention; provides owner with exclusive right to the invention; can prevent others from making, using, or selling invention for 20 years
• copyright: provides owner of an original work five rights:
  1. reproduction
  2. distribution
  3. public display
  4. public performance
  5. production of derivative works

Question 5

fair use

Answer 5

sometimes legal to produce a copyrighted work without permission, those circumstances are called fair use

four factors to consider in juding fair use:
1. purpose and character of use
2. nature of work
3. amount of work being copied
4. affect on market for work

Question 6

digital millennium copyright act

Answer 6

• first big revision of copyright law since 1976
• brought US into compliance with Europe
• extended length of copyright
• extended copyright protection to music broadcast over internet
• made it illegal for anyone to
  – circumvent encryption schemes placed on digital media
  – circumvent copy controls even for fair use purposes

Question 7

software copyrights
– history
– what do they protect
– for how long

Answer 7

• history: copyright protection began 1964
• what gets protected: object program, not source program which is treated as a trade secret; reverse engineering allowed

Question 8

software patents
– history
– patent trolls
– what do they protect

Answer 8

– history: until 1981 patent office refused to grant software patents

– patent trolls” patent-holding companies that specialize in buying patents and enforcing patent rights

– protect software process with practical utility, reverse engineering not allowed

Question 9

open source
– definition
– five beneficial consequences

Answer 9

• definition: no restrictions preventing others from selling or giving away software, soure code included in distribution, no restrictions preventing others from modifying source code, no restrictions regarding how people can use software, same rights applying to everyone receiving redistributions of the software
• benefits:
  1. gives everyone opportunity yo improve program
  2. new versions of programs appear more frequently
  3. eliminate tensions between objeying law and helping others
  4. programs belong to entire community
  5. shifts focus from manufacturing to service