Intellectual property

Question 1

what is it and why is it important

Answer 1

congress shall have the power to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries

• anything thats the product of a creative process
• property that belongs to somebody, you want to be able to control who uses it
  examples: trademarks, copyrights, patents and trade secrets

Question 2

value depends on..

Answer 2

exclusivity of use
-infringement - unauthorized use
license = contract with owner of property permitting limited use of the property. Breach can result in infringement

Question 3

trade secrets

Answer 3

any information that 1 a company takes reasonable precautions to keep secret and 2 which derives economic value from being kept secret
examples: customer lists, supplier lists, plans, marketing techinques, research and development, pricing info, formulas, production methods

Question 4

trade secrets precautions

Answer 4

must take reasonable precautions to keep information a secret (computer stores information on an intranet, lock and secure items, use non disclosure agreements)
-what should employers do to protect against employees from taking trade secret info to competitors - non compete agreements

Question 5

economic value can be proven by:

Answer 5

showing information is of value to competitors

Question 6

trade secrets protected by

Answer 6

protected by common las, also Uniform Trade Secrets Act (where adopted by state)

a. one can be subject to tort liability for using or disclosing a trade secret if a. obtained the secret improperly or b. use/disclosure is a breach of confidence
1. can also face contractual liability if signed a non disclosure agreement
2. in a civil case, owner can get an injunction and or damages for misappropriation

Question 7

economic espionage act

Answer 7

federal law criminalizes stealing trade secrets

1. provides for fines up to 10 years in prison

Question 8

patents

Answer 8

the exclusive right to make, use and sell an invention
a. patentable subject matter: processes, machines, compositions of matter, improvements to any of the above, nonfunctional designs of a manufactured article and certain plants

Question 9

three types of patents

Answer 9

utility- useful or functional
design-design of article of manufacture
plants-can be reproduced asexually

Question 10

the invention, discovery must be

Answer 10

the invention, discovery, process or design must be novel, useful and not obvious in light of current technology

1. novel: new and different from prior art
2. useful: must do something (have utility)
3. not obvious: to someone with an ordinary understanding in the field at the time the patent application was filed

Question 11

must file to get protection

Answer 11

1st to file gets it first

1. 20 years of protection for inventions (utility patents), 17 years for plant patents, and 14 years for designs
2. upon expiration, it is in the public domain
3. remedies: injunctions, damages, triple damages for intentional infringement, and destruction of infringing items
4. patent trolls: non-user owners- sell your patent to them, they sue people, bane of our economy

Question 12

ethical issues in allowing pharmaceutical companies to patent medicines

Answer 12

less expensive medicine isn’t available, grant free licenses for certain drugs