ETH 321 Week 3 (6 slides excluding reference) + week 3 --- 1 slide
Futuretek
Advice to prevent IP Theft
Moving forward – legal recommendations against “Smart Chip.”
Good Morning Everyone,
I'm Rafael Navarro, Chief Operations Officer, and my team and I have been asked to provide the company with some advice and recommendations as to how to handle “Smartchip’s” misappropriation of our databases. As we know, the owner of the SmartChip is a former employee of ours and unfortunately she decides to make copies of our carefully elaborated databases.
Today we are going to focus on how to prevent IP (Intellectual Property) Theft and decide how to move forward with Smartchip.
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Futuretek's intellectual property (IP)
A database right is a type of right under sui-generis laws regarding the copying and storage as well as distribution of information in a database. Database copyright more generally refer to computer databases. If the database is updated during 15 year period, the valid period of 15 years can be extended.
A database is a collection of material which is organized in a manner that allows easy retrieval of individual records which are protected under copyright laws. A database right applies to electronic as well as printed databases.
The term database is used to describe a compilation of works, data or other materials (i.e. collection of facts) arranged in a systematic or methodical way. In other words, ordered by logical principles set up by the compiler.
In principle, the facts themselves can not be protected but the order and organization can, if they show a certain level of creativity on the part of the author.
("Sui generis database right," n.d.)
We would like to begin with ensuring that everyone has a good understanding of the meaning of intellectual property.
Intellectual Property Theft: What Is It?
Intellectual property (IP) theft occurs when someone uses your intellectual property for any reason without your permission. Laws protect including trademarks copyrights, and patents. If you have the proper protections, you can sue for money damages.
More importantly, we understand that two of our databases were copied and taken to benefit from by Dana for the expressed purpose of gain in her new company. So, the questions has to be asked, are databases considered IP? The Answer is YES!
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
(soo-ee jen-ris) Latin for of its own kind, and used to describe a form of legal protection that exists outside typical legal protections -- that is, something that is unique or different. In intellectual property law, for example, ship hull designs have achieved a unique category of protection and are "sui generis" within copyright law.
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Why Are Intellectual Property Protections Important?
Intellectual property is the ownership of an innovation, whether it's a commercial product, an artistic creation, a method or formula, unique symbol, logo or name, or other creation or invention. It can involve a range of creations, including but not limited to a:
Poem
Movie
Song
Book
Industrial machinery
Computer program and Databases
Smartphone design
Chemical formula
Business process
Company logo
Client list
("Database Copyright Protection," n.d.)
Explain any civil actions in tort or criminal actions that may be brought against Dana or SmartChip.
Now, that we understand that our intellectual property has been unlawful taken, we should know what else should be protected and why.
In our state, sui-generis laws are enforced and therefore we recommending to move forward with criminal charges against Dana as soon as our legal team is prepared.
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Why Does Intellectual Property Theft Occur?
Intellectual property theft occurs because it's easy to do and can be highly profitable. Thieves see something they think is a good idea, take it, and profit from it. They might rationalize it as a "victimless" crime. They aren't concerned with the consequences, which range from robbing the inventor or creator of their livelihood to damaging companies and reputations. IP theft can steal tax revenue from the government and even support organized crime.
Reporting and Tracking IP Theft
If you think someone has stolen intellectual property (yours or someone else's) you can report the theft to various outlets. These include:
The U.S. Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Division
National Intellectual Rights Coordination Center
National White Collar Crime Center
FBI Local Field Offices
Internet Crime Complaint Center
Internet Fraud Complaint Center
National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center
RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America)
Stopfakes.gov
ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
Postal Inspection Service
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Business Software Alliance
National Association of Attorneys General
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Understanding the Law
Know what isn't protected. Copyright law generally does not protect the underlying ideas of a creative work, and it does not protect facts. For example, copyright doesn't prevent you from expressing in your own words ideas and facts found in a book or journal you read.
Don't confuse copyrights, trademarks, and other forms of "intellectual property." The term "intellectual property" itself has led to these very different things being confused with each other.
Learn about the public domain laws for your jurisdiction. "Public domain" is short-hand for "copyrighted", not "publicly distributed". A work can be out of copyright due to age, by the nature of authorship, or other reasons.
("Intellectual Property," n.d.)
Assuming Futuretek sues SmartChip, and we wins the lawsuit. These are the recommend ethical policies that SmartChip can put into place to prevent future legal claims and litigation against the company.
To avoid the a similar incident, we would like to recommend ethical polices based on these guidelines.
For example, ensuring that all employees are trained and aware of all of the intellectual property that belongs to the company.
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Avoiding Infringement
Don't take anything from the Internet, or anywhere else, because it is almost always copyrighted, by default. "I found it on the Internet" is not a defense against copyright infringement; works on the Internet are as copyrightable as any other kind of work. Nor is "it didn't say it was copyrighted.”
Be creative. If ever you wonder whether a certain action would infringe on the copyright of someone else, the question to ask is: is this a creative work on my count, or am I simply drawing from the creativity of someone else? Lunches, as any economist would tell you, are not free.
Don't rely on "fair use". Called "fair dealing" in many jurisdictions, fair use is simply a guarantee that copyright laws do not infringe freedom of speech and make critical commentary impossible.
Be wary about writing fiction based on other works. It was said above that "ideas cannot be copyrighted". However, fictional characters, story-lines, and settings[ can be copyrighted (insofar as they are original).
These are the recommend risk management procedures that Futuretek can implement to avoid or limit this type of activity from happening to the company in the future.
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References
Database Copyright Protection. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.svw.co.za/database-copyright-protection
Intellectual Property. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.esa.int/About_Us/Law_at_ESA/Intellectual_Property_Rights/Copyright_and_databases
Sui generis database right. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sui_generis_database_right
References
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