Discussion Board 5
Classmate's Post (DB 5)
Jacqueline Campbell
1. Intellectual property is an invention or work that is the result of creativity, to which one has rights. Protection that is available to a business under U.S. law for various types of intellectual property is trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights, and patents (Textbook pg. 187-189 para. 3-6). The WTO is the umbrella organization that negotiates and administers several agreements such as the GATT, The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the GATS, The General Agreement on Trade in Services, and the TRIPS, Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (Textbook pg. 186-187 para. 10-2c).
2. I currently work at Chickfila and from the research that I have done, they are not shy about enforcing its intellectual property rights. They are known for the phrase "Eat More" and have trademarked the phrase. Chickfila is also known for its cow and branding of their cow. One example is Chickfila branded books given away with Kid Meals. They are protecting their brand name with a federally registered trademark.
3. The attorney in the video did raise various legal issues with a flash mob and one of the intellectual property issues that arise is that a lawyer should be involved from the start. If two people have a plan, those two people can be arrested for conspiracy if that plan is to commit a crime. Another intellectual property issue is what is copyrightable. During a flash mob, there is a chance that music will be playing or if you put together a flash mob video and use music for that video. That music is being copyrighted, if the right actions aren't being handled through a lawyer (Textbook pg. 162 para. 1). Many things can go wrong before, during, and after a flash mob and the organizers need to think in advance of everything that could go wrong and every law that they could get accused of.
Mikayla McLeod
Under US law, intellectual property is protected under copyrights, trademarks, service marks, and trade secrets. According to the book, "Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) is the WTO agreement that deals with trade rules that impact copyrights, patents, trademarks, geographical names, industrial designs, and trade secrets" (Section 10-2c, para. 5). There minimum levels of protection that all one hundred and sixty nations must provide for intellectual property.
I work for two different companies: a real estate brokerage, Godfrey Properties, and a residential redevelopment company, Eagle Chase Real Estate Solutions, LLC. Godfrey Properties has a trademarked logo, company name, and website domain name. Eagle Chase Real Estate Solutions also has a trademarked logo, name, and website domain name.
One intellectual property issue with a flash mob is the ownership of photos and videos that are taken during the event. "Note that under U.S. copyright law, authors and artists receive protection for the life of the author plus 70 years" (Section 10-2e, para. 10). It must be determined who owns the rights, which is easier if the flash mob hires their own photographers and people to take the videos at the event. Another possible issue is with music. The organizers
must obtain permission to use certain music since most likely the event will be shared on-line. The author of the music must consent to the use of their work.
Rylee Karkoska
1. An example of business intellectual property protection under US laws is copyright. (9-2a) A copyright is exclusive right given by federal statute to the creator of a literary or an artistic work to use, reproduce, and display the work. I particularly liked the example the book gave that it is a violation of U.S. copyright law for satellite carriers to capture signals of network stations in the United States and transmit them abroad which helps TV providers. Another type of protection outlined in the book is the Limited Lanham Act Protection of Product Design (9-1h) which protects against knockoffs. (10-2c) Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) is a World Trade Organization agreement that deals with trade rules that impact copyrights, patents, trademarks, geographical names, industrial designs, and trade secrets. TRIPS establishes minimum levels of protection that each government must provide to fellow WTO members. All members must show that their national laws are TRIPS compliant and that they have adequate standards of protection.
2. I work for an accounting firm and there are many different types of intellectual property that is owned by the business. For example there are internal accounting technology systems that were built that specifically made for our company. Additionally the company produces publications on most recent tax laws or auditing updates which are intellectual property of the company. In general the logo and name of the company itself are trademarked.
3. One legal issue with intellectual property as it relates to flash mobs is copyrights. As state in the video, in order to use the local band's music they need a license from the band. I feel that copyright impacts flash mobs because music is intellectual property of the artists which is protected in a copyright (9-2e). Another type of intellectual property that flash mobs would legally have to deal with would be trademarks. As mentioned in the video the flash mob has various theme rides so if their theme happens to be titled something similar to a company's name or slogan, they could be in trouble because trademarks protect words, names, and symbols which are used to identify a particular product or service (9-1a).
Sina Abbasi Kammasai
The protections under U.S law are copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets as stated in the textbook: Intellectual property comes in many forms: the writing by an author or the software developed by an employee, the new product or process developed by an inventor, the company name, and the secret formula used to make Coca-Cola. Federal law provides rights to owners of these works, products, company names, and secret formulas that are called copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets (Textbook, pg. 154, introduction paragraph). Protections provided for intellectual property under the WTO are also trademarks, well-known marks, copyright protection, and patent protection. These all fall under
TRIP (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property), TRIP is the WTO agreement that deals with trade rules that impact copyrights, patents, trademarks, geographical names, industrial designs, and trade secrets. TRIP establishes minimum levels of protection that each government must provide to fellow WTO members. (Textbook, pg. 187, para 10-2c).
My friend opened a restaurant and had his restaurant logo trademarked, a competitor down the street tried to use that same logo with a very minor change but wasn't able to because of the trademark laws that are in place
An intellectual property issue that can arise from a flash mob is copyright, because flash mobs are recorded by a bunch of different people who are in the area the individuals who are actually part of the flash mob have to be careful that the video they choose to upload on their site is actually video taken by their own crew and not a news crew or other individuals. Copyrights protect literary, musical, dramatic, and artistic work. “Protected are books and periodicals, musical, and dramatic compositions, choreographic works; maps; works of art, motion pictures and other audiovisual works; sound recordings” (Textbook, pg. 162, para 9-2c). This can also be applied to the music in which the flash mob uses for the videos they upload, the flash mob tribes have to keep in mind copyright issues when it comes to the music and get the proper permission from the artist or band.
Nicholas Malcom
1. Businesses that hold patents or trademarks are protected under US law. Patents and trademarks are defining characteristics of companies, making them intellectual property of the company. Companies are also protected through trade secrets. But, for a company to qualify for ‘trade secrets”- the info must have value.
2. For my business our intellectual property includes are name, website and logo. I am the manager for a pressure washing company. We had our logo professionally designed and trademarked to ensure another business doesn’t use it. Our company is an LLC which makes everything property of said LLC.
3. Flash mobs can cause many legal issues if not done correctly as explained in the video. If the Flash mob is breaking the law such as indecent exposure or gathering in an area past regulated time. Also, flash mobs can be infringing on intellectual property rights if they capture photos/videos of a person and don’t receive permission. Another form of infringement would be using a companys logo or trademark without their permission.